FAC    SIMILE  OF  A    PORTION    OF  THE    TITLE    PAGE  OF   AN    ILLUMINATED. 

"SHAH     N  AM  AH"(SEE  PREFACE). 


PERSIAN  LITERATURE 


ANCIENT    AND     MODERN 


BY 

ELIZABETH   A.   EEED 

MEMBER   OP   THE    PHILOSOPHICAL    SOCIETY   OF    GREAT    BRITAIN 

MEMBER  OP  THE  INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS  OF  ORIENTALISTS 

AUTHOR   OF   HINDU   LITERATURE,   ETC. 


CHICAGO 

S.    C.    GRIGGS    AND    COMPANY 
1893 


COPYRIGHT,  1893. 
BY  S.  C.  GRIGGS  AND  COMPANY. 


CiK  ILafcrstUt  13rrss 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  CO.,  CHICAGO 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


PERSIAN  LITERATURE,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN. 


DIVISION  I. — EARLY  TABLETS  AND  MYTHOLOGY. 
CHAPTEK  I. 

HISTORIC  OUTLINE. 

ORIGIN  OF  PERSIAN  LITERATURE — ACCAD  AND 
SUMER — LITERATURE  OF  NINEVEH  —  BABY- 
LON—  IRAN  OR  PERSIA  —  PHYSICAL  FEA- 
TURES —  PERSIAN  ART  —  MANUSCRIPTS  — 
EARLY  LITERATURE — THE  ARABIAN  CON- 
QUEST—  LITERATURE  OF  MODERN  PERSIA  — 
PERSIAN  ROMANCE  .....  1 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE  CUNEIFORM    INSCRIPTIONS. 

EARLY  LITERATURE  —  HISTORIC  TABLETS  —  THE 
INSCRIPTIONS  OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR — THE 
FALL  OF  BABYLON —CYRUS,  THE  ACH.EME- 
XIAN — BEHISTUN  INSCRIPTIONS — DARIUS  AT 
PERSEPOLIS  —  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  XERXES  — 
iii 


2031459 


iv  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

ARTAXERXES — A    LATER   PERSIAN   TABLET  — 

RESUME 30 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  POETRY  AND  MYTHOLOGY  OP  THE  TABLETS. 

PRIMITIVE  MYTHOLOGY  —  ANU  —  SEVEN  EVIL 
SPIRITS — ACCADIAN  POEM  — ASSUR  —  HEA — 
NIN-CI-GAL  — SIN,  THE  MOON  GOD  —  HEA- 
BANI — NERGAL — MERODACH  —  NEBO — NINIP 
—  CHEMOSH  —  INCANTATIONS  TO  FIRE  AND 
WATER— IM — BAAL— TAMMUZ— ISHTAR — ISH- 
TAR  OF  ARBELA  —  ISHTAR  OF  ERECH  — 
LEGEND  OF  ISHTAR  AND  IZDUBAR — ISHTAR, 
QUEEN  OF  LOVE  AND  BEAUTY — THE  DESCENT 
OF  ISHTAR 53 

CHAPTER    IV. 
PERSIAN    MYTHOLOGY. 

THE  COMMON  SOURCE  OF  MYTHOLOGY  — 
MYTHICAL  MOUNTAINS — RIVERS — MYTHICAL 
BIRDS — AHURA  MAZDA  —  ATAR — THE  STORM 
GOD— YIMA — THE  CHINVAT  BRIDGE — MITHRA 
— RESUME 8G 

DIVISION  II. — PERIOD  OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA. 
CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ZEND-AVESTA. 

DERIVATION  AND  LANGUAGE— DIVISIONS — AGE 
OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA — MANUSCRIPTS — ZAR- 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  V 

ATHUSTRA — THE    EARLY    PARSIS— THE     MOD- 
ERN   PARSIS .109 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    TEACHINGS    OF    THE    ZEND-AVESTA. 

THE  GATHAS — THE  WAIL  OF  THE  KINE — THE 
LAST  GATHA —  THE  MARRIAGE  SONG  —  THE 
YASNA — COMMENTARY  ON  THE  FORMULAS — 
THE  YASNA  HAPTANG-HAITI — THE  SRAOSHA 
YAST — THE  YASNA  CONCLUDING  .  .  .  127 

CHAPTER    VII. 

TEACHINGS    OP    THE    ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED. 

THE  VENDIDAD —  FARGARD  II  —  THE  VARA  OF 
YIMA— THE  LAWS  OF  PURIFICATION  —  DIS- 
POSITION OF  THE  DEAD  —  PUNISHMENTS  — 
THE  PLACE  OF  REWARD  —  THE  VISPARAD  — 
TEACHING  OF  THE  MODERN  PARSIS  .  .  146 

DIVISION  III. — THE  TIME  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN 
CONQUEST  AND  THE  KORAN. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   KORAN. 

THE  SUCCESSOR  OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA— AUTHOR 
OF  THE  KORAN  —  FIRST  REVELATIONS — THE 
HIG-RAH — CONTINUED  WARFARE — DEATH  OF 
MOHAMMED  —  RECENSION  OF  THE  TEXT  — 
TEACHING  OF  THE  KORAN  —  HEATEN  — 


vi  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 

HELL  —  PREDESTINATION —  POLYGAMY  —  LIT- 
ERARY   STYLE    OF   THE    KORAN         .  165 

DIVISION  IV. — THE  PERIOD  SUCCEEDING  THE 
MOHAMMEDAN  CONQUEST. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ANWAR-I-SUHALI. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  WORK — PREFACE — THE  BEES 
AND  THEIR  HABITS — THE  TWO  PIGEONS  — 
THE  BLIND  MAN  AND  HIS  WHIP — AMICABLE 
INSTRUCTION — THE  PIGEONS  AND  THE  RAT 
— THE  ANTELOPE  AND  THE  CROW —  THE 
ELEPHANT  AND  THE  JACKAL  —  GEMS  FROM 
THE  HITOPADESA 189 

CHAPTER  X. 

PERSIAN  POETRY. 

SEVEN  ERAS — THE  FIRST  PERIOD — ITHE  HOMER 
OF  IRAN — THE  SHAH  NAMAH— HISTORY  OF 
THE  PERSIAN  EPIC — FIRDUSl — INVECTIVE — 
MUTESHIM  —  THE  SHAH'S  REPENTANCE  — 
DEATH  OF  FIRDUS! — THE  POEM  .  .  .  214 

CHAPTER  XI. 

STORY   OF   THE   SHAH   NAMAH. 

SAM  SUWAR  —  THE  SlMURGH's  NEST  —  THE 
FATHER'S  DREAM  —  RUDABEH — THE  MAR- 
RIAGE— RUSTEM — THE  TURANIAN  INVASION 
—  THE  WHITE  DEMON  228 


TABLE   OF   CONTEXTS.  Vli 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   HEFT-KHAN,  OR   SEVEN    LABORS    OP   RUSTEM. 

A  LION  SLAIN  BY  RAKUSH — ESCAPE  FROM  THE 
DESERT  —  THE  DRAGON  SLAIN  —  THE  EN- 
CHANTRESS—CAPTURE OF  AULAD — VICTORY 
OVER  DEMONS — SEVENTH  LABOR,  THE 
WHITE  DEMON  SLAIN  —  THE  MARRIAGE  OF 
RUSTEM — SOHRAB 252 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

ISFENDIYAR. 

THE  HEFT-KHAN  OF  ISFENDIYAR — THE  BRAZEN 
FORTRESS — THE  CONFLICT  WITH  RUSTEM  — 
THE  FALL  OF  THE  WARRIORS  .  .  .  272 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SECOND  PERIOD. 

ANWARI  —  NIZAM!  —  LAIL!  AND  MAJNUN —  A 
FRIEND — THE  WEDDING  —  DELIVERANCE  — 
THE  MEETING  IN  THE  DESERT  —  DEATH  OF 
THE  LOVERS — VISION  OF  ZYD  .  .  .  284 

CHAPTER    XV. 

THIRD  PERIOD. 

GENGHIS  KHAN — JALAL-UDDIN  RUMI — SA/DI — 
WORKS  OF  SA'DI — THE  BUSTAN — THE  PEARL 
—  KINDNESS  TO  THE  UNWORTHY — SILENCE, 
THE  SAFETY  OF  IGNORANCE  —  DARIUS  AND 
HIS  HORSE-KEEPER  —  STORIES  FROM  THE 


viii  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 

GULISTAN— THE    WISE    WRESTLER— DANGERS 

OF   PROSPERITY — BORES  ....  309 

CHAPTEK  XVI. 

LATER  PERIODS. 

THE  FOURTH  PERIOD— LITERARY  KINGS — HAFIZ 
PIR-I-SEBZ — SHIRAZ — THE  FEAST  OF  SPRING 
—  MY  BIRD  —  FIFTH  PERIOD  —  JAMI —  THE 
WORKS  OF  JAMI  —  RECEPTION  —  THE  SIXTH 
PERIOD  — THE  SEVENTH  PERIOD  .  .  321 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI. 

PERSIAN  ROMANCE— THE  TWO  COMRADES — THE 
SEPARATION— THE  QUEEN — THE  DEPARTURE 
— THE  ANNOUNCEMENT  .  ...  338 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 

THE   EXILES— THE   DESERT— A  SHIPWRECK— THE 

REJsCUE — THE   CAPTURE  .  .  .  .  351 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 
THE      FUGITIVES  —  ROYAL      INTERVIEWS  —  THE 
CONFLICT — A    GARDEN     SCENE — AFTERWARDS 
— THE   DECISION     .....  3(35 


TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  XX. 

MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 

THE    CAPTIVES— ARREST      AND     TRIAL  —  ROYAL 

FAVOR — THE  SENTENCE  ....  383 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

MERER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONCLUDED. 

THE    WEDDING — A     COUNCIL  —  ROYAL    CAVAL- 
CADE— THE   MESSENGER — RECEPTION      .  .  392 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

CONCLUSION. 

SUMMARY — PRIESTLY    RULE — RUSSIAN    OPPRES- 
SION 403 


PREFACE. 


rriHERE  is  a  growing  interest  in  the  literatures  of 
the  Orient,  but  the  difficulties  in  this  field  of 
investigation  have  been  so  great  that  few  students 
have  taken  time  to  recover  the  gems  from  the  worth- 
less matter  surrounding  them.  The  author  of  the  pres- 
ent volume,  however,  has  chosen  to  devote  years  of 
persistent  effort  to  the  work  of  collecting  and  con- 
densing the  historic  facts  pertaining  to  this  subject, 
and  giving  them  to  the  public,  together  with  the  finest 
thoughts  to  be  found  upon  the  pages  of  these  early 
manuscripts. 

No  labor  has  been  spared  to  attain  accuracy  of 
statement,  no  difficulties  have  been  ignored  in  these 
years  of  research,  and  the  results,  so  far  as  completed, 
are  now  before  the  reader  in  two  volumes  :  the  one  re- 
cently published  on  Hindu  Literature,  and  the  present 
work  on  Persian  Literature. 

Although  this  book  was  partially  written  long  be- 
fore the  publication  of  its  predecessor,  still  it  might 
never  have  been  completed,  but  for  the  kindly  recep- 
tion which  a  generous  public  gave  to  the  preceding 
volume. 

Cordial  thanks  are  due  to  the  American  press, 
which  not  only  gave  to  "Hindu  Literature"  hundreds 


xji  PREFACE. 

of  favorable  notices,  but  in  many  instances  devoted 
whole  columns  to  able  reviews  of  the  work. 

It  is  also  a  rare  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the  cour- 
tesies of  the  British  press,  and  especially  the  great 
kindness  of  leading  European  scholars,  who  have  sent 
words  of  warm  approval  and  congratulation  to  the 
author. 

In  the  present  volume  the  subject  has  been  sim- 
plified as  far  as  possible,  by  arranging  the  work  in 
four  chronological  divisions ;  the  epoch  of  Persian 
poetry  being  again  divided  into  seven  distinct  periods, 
corresponding  to  the  times  of  the  leading  poets,  who 
have  been  called  "The  Persian  Pleiades." 

Not  only  does  their  literature  present  seven  leading 
poets,  but  this  number  appears  to  have  a  peculiar 
charm  for  the  Persian  literati,  and  hence  we  find  in 
this  field  of  Eastern  fable,  the  "Seven  Evil  Spirits" 
of  Ami,  the  "Seven  Labors  of  Rustem,"  the  "Seven 
Great  Feats  of  Isfendiyar,"  "The  Seven  Fair  Faces" 
of  Nizami,  the  "Seven  Thrones"  of  Jami,  and  va- 
rious other  combinations  of  the  same  number. 

In  this  as  well  as  previous  works,  the  author  wishes 
to  acknowledge  the  great  value  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library,  where  a  wealth  of  Oriental  lore  is  ever  at  the 
service  of  the  student ;  here  are  valuable  works  which 
bear  on  the  history  and  literature  of  the  Sanskrit, 
Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  Persian,  Arabic  and  other  Asiatic 
tongues,  besides  many  volumes  in  the  modern  languages. 

Among    the    literati    of    Europe   the    author    is    in- 


I'll  E  FACE.  XI 11 

debted  to  such  men  as  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  Sir  M. 
Monier- Williams,  W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen,  Prof.  F.  Max 
Muller,  Dr.  Haug,  Dr.  L.  H.  Mills,  and  Ernest  A. 
Budge;  also  Profs.  Darmesteter,  Eastwick,  Atkinson, 
Davie  and  Owsley,  the  credits  being  given  where  the 
quotations  are  made. 

Grateful  acknowledgement  is  especially  made  to 
Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  of  the  Oxford  University ;  to  Sir 
M.  Monier- Williams,  and  to  Mr.  Theo.  G.  Pinches,  of 
the  British  Museum,  each  of  these  distinguished  schol- 
ars having  examined  portions  of  the  manuscript  and 
affixed  their  valuable  notes  thereunto. 

Cordial  thanks  are  also  due  to  Dr.  R.  Rost,  of  the 
India  Office  in  London,  who  laid  before  the  artist  all 
the  illuminated  Persian  manuscripts  in  that  vast  col- 
lection of  Eastern  lore,  and  to  the  honorable  Council 
of  the  India  Office,  who  placed  these  rare  literary 
treasures  at  the  author's  service  without  the  customary 
precaution  of  taking  a  bond  therefor.  The  frontis- 
piece is  a  section  of  the  illuminated  title-page  of  a 
Persian  manuscript  of  priceless  value.  This  is  a  copy 
of  the  Shah  Namah,  which  is  a  large  folio,  the  pages 
being  beautifully  written  in  four  columns.  Each  page 
is  illuminated  with  delicate  paintings,  which  are  a 
triumph  of  art.  This  old  manuscript,  which  is  now 
invaluable,  was  purchased  for  the  India  House  Collec- 
tion at  the  celebrated  Hastings  sale  about  twenty-five 
years  since.  Our  illustration  gives  only  a  portion  of 
the  page,  and  thus  the  full  size  of  the  figure  has  been 


FAC  SIMILE  OF  A  PORTION  OF  A  PAGE  OF  THE  OLDEST  ZEND  MANUSCRIPT. 
(See  Page  117. 


PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 


DIVISION   I. 
THE  EARLY  TABLETS  AND  MYTHOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORIC  OUTLINE. 

ORIGIN  OF  PERSIAN  LITERATURE  —  ACCAD  AND  SUMER 
—  LITERATURE  OF  NINEVEH  —  BABYLON  —  IRAN  OR 
PERSIA  —  PHYSICAL  FEATURES — PERSIAN  ART  — 
MANUSCRIPTS — EARLY  LITERATURE — THE  ARABIAN 
CONQUEST — LITERATURE  OF  MODERN  PERSIA — PER- 
SIAN ROMANCE. 

in  VERY  nation  has  a  literature  peculiarly  her  own, 
-"  even  though  it  may  find  its  sources  in  foreign 
fields.  As  Persia  was  founded  upon  the  ruins  of  more 
ancient  monarchies,  as  she  gathered  into  the  halls  of  her 
kings  the  spoils  of  conquered  nations,  so  also  her  liter- 
ature was  enriched  by  the  philosophy  and  science,  the 
poetry  and  mythology  of  her  predecessors.  The  resist- 
less horde,  which  poured  down  from  the  mountains  and 
swept  all  of  Western  Asia  into  its  current,  formed  the 


2  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

kindred  tribes  into  a  single  monarchy,  and  this  monarchy 
gathered  unto  herself,  not  only  the  wealth  and  military 
glory,  but  also  the  culture  and  learning  of  the  nations 
she  had  conquered.  The  whole  civilized  world  was 
taxed  to  maintain  the  splendors  of  her  court;  the  im- 
perial purple  was  found  in  the  city  of  Tyre,  and  her 
fleets  also  came  from  Phoenicia,  for  the  experience  of 
this  maritime  people  was  indispensable  to  their  Persian 
masters.  Indian  groves  furnished  the  costly  woods  of 
aloe  and  of  sandal  that  burned  upon  her  altars,  while 
Syria  and  the  islands  of  the  sea  filled  her  flagons  with 
wine. 

The  richest  fruits  were  brought  from  the  sunny  shores 
of  Malay,  and  even  the  desert  sent  tributes  of  incense 
and  gold.  Herds  of  camels  came  from  Yemen,  and 
horses  of  the  finest  Arabian  blood  were  found  in  the 
royal  stables.  What  wonder,  then,  that  the  nation  which 
rifled  continents  to  supply  her  magnificence  should  ap- 
propriate also  the  wealth  of  the  world  of  letters  that 
came  under  her  sway?  In  the  background  of  Persian 
power  there  lies  an  historic  past  which  is  replete  with 
the  literary  treasures  of  the  Orient. 

ACCAD    AND   SUMER. 

There  is  the  far  away  land  of  ancient  Babylonia,  with 
her  territory  divided  into  Accad1  and  Sumer  or 
Shinar.  These  were  the  northern  and  southern  divisions 
of  the  country. 

According  to  Prof.  Sayce,  "the  whole  of  Babylonia 
was  originally  inhabited  by  a  non-Semitic  race,  but  the 

i  Accad  is  first  mentioned  as  one  of  the  beginnings  of  the  kingdom  of 
Ximrod  in  Genesis  x,  10. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  3 

Semites  established  their  power  in  Accad,  or  North 
Babylonia,  at  an  earlier  date  than  they  did  in  Snmer 
in  the  south;  the  non-Semitic  dynasties  and  culture 
lingered  longer  therefore  in  Sumer."  l 

Their  land  was  the  home  of  the  palm  tree,  and  from 
the  highlands,  where  their  rivers  found  their  source, 
down  to  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  it  presented  a 
wealth  of  foliage  and  blossoms.  Fields  that  were  cov- 
ered with  ripening  grain  awaited  the  sickle  of  the 
reaper,  while  the  fruit  trees  bent  beneath  their  burdens, 
and  the  vines  gleamed  in  the  sunlight  with  clusters  of 
'gold  and  purple. 

Although  we  know  little  of  this  primitive  people,  a 
few  of  their  imperishable  records  have  come  down  to 
us,  and  light  is  thus  thrown  upon  the  literary  culture 
which  prevailed  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Nile  long 
before  the  Exodus.  We  have  the  inscriptions2  of  Dungi, 
the  king  of  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  and  also  "  king  of 
Sumer  and  Accad."  We  have,  too,  a  portion  of  the  clay 
tablets  recounting  the  glory  of  Sargon  I,  who  carried 
his  conquests  into  the  land  of  the  Elamites,  and  even 
subdued  the  Hittites  in  northern  Syria.  The  independ- 
ent states  of  Babylonia  also  were  brought  under  his 
sway,  and  he  claimed  to  be  "the  sovereign  of  the  four 
regions  of  the  world,"  while  his  Accadian  subjects  gave 
him  the  name  of  "the  king  of  justice  and  the  deviser 
of  prosperity."  He  was  the  patron  of  letters,  and  in 
the  library3  of  this  old  Semitic  king,  in  the  city  of 

1  Mr.  Theo.  G.  Pinches,  in  his  notes  on  this  chapter,  says:  "The  Sumerians 
are  generally  regarded  as  of  the  same  race  as  of  the  Accadians.    Sumerian 
is  a  dialect  of  Akkadian.    Sumer  and  Akkad  both  contained  Semitic  and 
non-Semitic-  inhabitants." 

2  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee  par  E.  de  Sarzec,  Plate  No.  29. 

3  The  catalogue  of  the  astronomical  works  in  the  library  of  Sargon  I 


4  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Accad,  there  was  written  on  pages  of  clay  a  work  on 
astronomy  and  astrology  in  seventy-two  books. 

Long  before  the  poets  of  India,  of  Greece  or  of  Per- 
sia began  to  weave  their  gorgeous  web  of  mythology, 
the  seers  of  Accad  and  of  Shinar  watched  beside  the 
great  loom  of  Nature,  as  she  wove  out  the  curtains  of 
the  morning  and  the  crimson  draperies  of  the  setting 
sun.  They  listened  to  the  battle  of  the  elements  around 
their  mountain  peaks,  and  dreamt  of  the  storm-king; 
they  heard  the  musical  murmurs  of  the  wind,  as  it 
whispered  to  the  closing  flowers;  they  felt  the  bene- 
diction of  the  night,  with  its  voices  of  peace,  and  the 
divine  poem  of  earth's  beauty  found  an  echo  in  their 
hearts. 

The  bloom  of  Accadian  poetry  may  be  placed  about 
four  thousand  years  before  our  own  times,  when  the 
primeval  teachings  of  Nature  had  become  the  theme  of 
the  poet,  and  been  voiced  in  the  measures  of  song. 

But  the  scientific  impulse  of  ancient  Accad  remained 
an  impulse  only,  the  methods  of  science  were  undis- 
covered, and  the  student  was  led  astray  by  his  own 
fancies  and  misconceptions ;  still  amidst  all  the  false 
science  of  a  primitive  Chaldea  there  were  germs  of  truth, 
which  have  been  developed  even  in  our  own  times. 
The  classic  writers  said  truly  that  Babylonia  was  the 
birthplace  of  astronomy.  It  was  also  the  birthplace  of 
mathematics;  and  although  their  figures  were  simple, 
the  Chaldeans  attained  quite  a  proficiency  in  their  cal- 
culations. The  library  at  Larsa  or  Senkereh  was  famous 

instructs  the  reader  to  write  down  the  number  of  the  book  that  he  needs, 
and  the  librarian  will  thereupon  give  him  the  tablet  required.—  Sayce,  Bab. 
Lit.,  p.  9. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  O 

for  its  mathematical   works,   and  it  formed  a  nucleus 
for  students  from  various  portions  the  country. 

LITERATURE    OF    NINEVEH. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  a  great  city  lifted  her 
battlements  and  arches  towards  the  skies,  and  became  the 
home  of  Assyrian  Kings.  According  to  Diodorus1  her 
walls  were  an  hundred  feet  high,  and  so  broad  that  four 
chariots  could  be  driven  abreast  upon  them,  while  fifteen 
hundred  towers,  apparently  impregnable,  arose  from 
their  massive  foundations.  Nineveh  was  the  home  of 
imperial  splendor,  and  twenty-two  kings  were  taxed  to 
supply  the  materials  for  her  costly  palaces  where  the 
finest  sculptures  of  the  East  were  found.  Assyrian  art 
covered  her  angles  with  graceful  curves,  and  built  her 
temples  with  their  gilded  domes,  while  the  interior  walls 
were  adorned  with  sculptured  slabs  of  white  alabaster. 
The  germs  of  Greek  art,  as  well  as  Greek  mythology, 
were  found  in  the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Eu- 
phrates, for  here  were  Doric  and  Ionic  columns ;  here 
were  Corinthian  capitals,  with  architrave,  frieze  and 
cornice,  and  yet  the  latest  of  these  must  have  been 
carved  before  the  earliest  date  which  has  been  assigned 
to  any  work  of  Grecian  art.  Though  her  culture  was 
confined  to  certain  classes,  and  the  great  mass  of  her 
population  could  not  discern  between  their  right  hands 
and  their  left,  still,  for  centuries  Nineveh2  was  the 

1  Diodorus,  Sec.  23. 

2  The  word  Nineveh  is  made  up  of  signs  which  mean  city,  couch  and 
Nana  respectively,  all  of  which  means  the  resting  place  of  the  chief  god, 
Nana.    (E.  A.  Budge.)    The  great  commerce  of  Nineveh— the  fact  that  her 
merchants  were  greatly  "  multiplied''— is  illustrated  by  the  large  collection 
of  contract  tablets  in  the  British  Museum. 


fi  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

mistress  of   the  East,  even    Babylon  being  subject  to 
her  power. 

She  reached  the  zenith  of  her  glory  under  the  rule 
of  Assur-bani-pal  (the  Sardanapalus  of  the  Greeks).  He 
was  the  grand  monarch  of  Assyria,  and  under  his  reign 
the  treasures  of  the  world  flowed  to  this  common  centre, 
while  the  name  of  Nineveh  was  feared  from  the  frontiers 
of  India  to  the  shores  of  the  ^gean  sea.  Ambitious  in 
his  schemes  of  conquest,  and  luxurious  in  the  splendors 
of  his  court,  he  nevertheless  confided  his  military  move- 
ments largely  to  the  hands  of  his  ablest  generals,  and 
devoted  much  attention  to  the  accumulation  of  his 
strange  library  at  the  capital  city.  Here  he  gathered  the 
literary  treasures  of  the  Orient,  and  scribes  were  kept 
busy  copying  and  translating  early  works,  or  writing 
original  books,  either  in  the  Assyrian  or  the  Accadian 
tongue.  The  decaying  literature  of  Babylonia  was  for- 
warded to  Nineveh,  where  it'  was  copied  and  edited  by 
the  Assyrians.  A  new  text  was  the  most  valuable  present 
that  any  city  could  send  to  this  literary  king,  and  it  was 
received  with  the  enthusiasm  exhibited  by  a  modern 
scholar  on  the  reception  of  a  rare  manuscript.  It  is  to 
the  library  of  Assur-bani-pal,  that  we  are  indebted  for 
much  of  our  knowledge  of  Babylonian  literature— stored 
away  in  those  curious  vaults,  were  thousands  of  books 
written  upon  pages  of  clay.  There  were  historical  and 
mythological  works,  legal  records,  geographical  and 
astronomical  documents,  as  well  as  poetical  productions. 
There  were  lists  of  stones  and  trees,  of  birds  and  beasts, 
besides  the  official  copies  of  treaties,  petitions  to  the 
king,  and  the  royal  proclamations.  Strangers  came 
from  the  court  of  Egypt,  from  Lydia,  and  from  Cyprus 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  7 

to  this  ancient  seat  of  learning.  But  while  the  king 
was  absorbed  in  his  favorite  pursuits,  the  spirit  of 
revolution  was  abroad  in  the  land, — Elam,  Babylonia, 
Arabia,  Palestine,  Egypt  and  Lydia  made  a  common 
cause  against  the  reigning  monarch,  the  insurrection 
being  led  by  the  king's  own  brother,  the  viceroy  of 
Babylon.  This  great  revolt  shook  the  very  foundations 
of  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  and  ushered  in  the  decline 
of  an  empire  which  extended  from  the  borders  of  India 
to  the  Nubian  mountains,  and  from  the  sands  of  Arabia 
to  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Caucasus. 

In  a  few  years  even  Nineveh  was  captured  and 
utterly  destroyed,  while  her  empire  was  shared  between 
Media  and  Babylon. 

BABYLON. 

This  was  "  the  golden  city  "  that  gathered  unto  her- 
self the  wealth  of  conquered  kingdoms  and  the  domin- 
ion of  many  tribes.  The  multitude  of  gods  in  her 
pantheon  represented  the  ideals  of  the  various  races  of 
men  who  laid  their  offerings  at  her  feet. 

Babylon  was  the  "  hammer  of  the  whole  earth/' 
and  she  forced  the  tributes  of  the  nations  into  her 
treasury,  and  their  legions  into  her  armies.  She  was 
"the  glory  of  kingdoms/'  and  she  gathered  the  culture 
of  a  thousand  years  into  a  great  historic  result  that 
contained  the  arts  and  science,  the  literature,  the 
wealth,  and  the  commerce  of  half  the  world.  The  cul- 
mination of  her  power  was  in  the  days  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who  was  the  Augustus  of  the  Babylonian  age. 

He  reconstructed  the  fallen  temples  of  her  idols  and 
carried  the  hideous  images  in  triumphal  processions  to 
their  palatial  courts. 


8  PERSIAN   LITEKATURE. 

Gold,  silver  and  precious  stones  made  bright  the 
altars  and  temples  of  Baal,  of  Merodach,  of  Nebo,  of 
Molech,  and  of  Ashtaroth. 

The  choicest  cedars  were  brought  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Lebanon.  "  The  cedar  of  the  roofing  of  the 
walls  of  Nebo,  with  gold  I  overlaid.  .  .  .  Strong 
bulls  of  copper,  and  dreadful  serpents  standing  upright 
on  their  thresholds  I  erected.  The  cell  of  the  lord  of 
the  gods — Merodach,  I  made  to  glisten  like  suns  the 
walls  thereof,  with  large  gold  like  rubble  stone.  .  .  . 
I  had  them  made  brilliant  as  the  sun."  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  the  undisputed  master  of  Western  Asia, 
and  the  walls  of  his  palace  were  hung  with  historic 
pictures  of  Chaldean  thrones,  and  draped  with  the  most 
gorgeous  tapestries  of  the  Eastern  looms,  while  in  his 
princely  halls  the  cool  air  fell  from  glittering  fountains, 
and  the  royal  abode  was  filled  with  music,  light,  and 
costly  perfume.  He  built  the  wondrous  hanging  gar- 
dens, where  the  almond  trees  waved  their  sprays  of 
silvery  blossoms,  and  the  palms  tossed  their  plumes  in 
the  sunlight, — there  the  pink  fingers  of  the  dawn 
opened  the  hearts  of  the  roses,  and  white  lilies  nestled 
amid  the  green  slopes  and  fragrant  shades,  while  the 
breezes  came  up  from  the  great  river  laden  with  the 
breath  of  lotus  blossoms  and  the  soft  music  of  her 
waves.  This  haughty  king  was  also  the  patron  of  let- 
ters, and  his  inscriptions  throw  a  vivid  light  upon  his 
pride  of  power,  and  magnificence — his  constant  de- 
votion to  his  idols,  and  his  never  ceasing  admiration 
of  his  capital  city, — "  this  great  Babylon  which  I  have 
built/'  His  books  were  written  largely  upon  stone, 
and  stored  away  beyond  the  reach  of  conquering  kings. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  9 

The  literary  treasures,  which  may  even  yet  lie  buried 
beneath  her  soil,  probably  belong  to  the  Babylon  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  owe  their  existence  to  him.  In 
his  days,  too,  there  flourished  the  family  of  Egebi,  who 
were  tradesmen.  This  Jewish  family  is  mentioned  as 
early  as  the  reign  of  Esar-haddon,  and  for  five  succes- 
sive generations  they  deposited  their  legal  documents  in 
earthen  jars  which  served  the  purpose  of  safes.  These 
thrifty  capitalists  continued  in  prosperity  even  to  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Darius  the  Great,  and  although 
coined  money  was  then  unknown  and  the  precious 
metals a  were  reckoned  by  weight,  they,  like  the  Roths- 
childs of  our  own  day,  loaned  money  to  the  kings  of 
their  generation,  and  their  well  kept  records  are  of  great 
value  as  a  chronological  index  of  the  times2  in  which 
they  were  written.  The  literature  of  the  Babylonians, 
like  that  of  the  Hindus,  claims  a  fabulous  antiquity. 
They  enumerated  ten  kings  who  lived  before  the  flood, 
whose  reigns  occupied  four  hundred  and  thirty-two 
thousand  years,  or  more  than  forty-three  centuries 
each,  and  during  this  immense  cycle  of  time,  there 
were  strange  creatures,  half  man  and  half  fish,  who 
ascended  from  the  ocean  and  taught  the  tribes  of 
Babylonia  the  rudiments  of  civilization.  There  were 
men  with  the  bodies  of  birds  and  the  tails  of  fishes, 

i  The  problem  of  the  relative  value  of  gold  and  silver  had  been  solved  to 
a  certain  extent  in  this  ancient  kingdom,  a  silver  shekel  being  one-tenth 
the  value  of  a  gold  shekel,  and  the  silver  half  shekel  one  twentieth  of  the 
value  of  the  gold  shekel.  The  drachma,  or  silver  half  shekel,  is  supposed  to 
be  the  most  ancient  type  of  the  English  shilling,  as  one-twentieth  of  the 
English  gold  sovereign. 

'-'  For  the  empire  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  records  of  the  Egebi  family  are 
invaluable— dated  deeds  extending,  year  by  year,  from  the  reign  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar to  the  close  of  that  of  Darius  Hystaspes.—  Sayce,  An.  Emp., 
p.  105. 


10  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

and  men  also  with  the  beaks  and  faces  of  birds  who 
in  other  respects  wore  the  form  of  humanity. 

But  their  literature  was  not  all  fable,  though  they 
really  cared  very  little  what  the  condition  of  their 
country  had  been  before  the  deluge,  for  they  were  en- 
gaged in  recounting  the  conquests  of  their  own  kings, 
and  the  power  and  splendor  of  their  idols.  Babylon, 
the  Queen  of  the  East,  with  her  arts  and  sciences,  with 
her  painting  and  sculpture,  was  like  other  Asiatic 
cities,  a  hot-bed  of  moral  corruption ;  even  her  re- 
ligion was  a  craze  of  sorcery  and  enchantments— of 
witchcraft  and  horrible  sensuality.  Her  high  priests 
were  astrologers  and  soothsayers,  while  her  gods  were 
the  personification  of  evil.  "  Moloch  demanded  the  best 
and  dearest  that  the  worshipper  could  grant  him,  and 
the  parent  was  required  to  offer  his  eldest  or  only  son 
as  a  sacrifice,  while  the  victim's  cries  were  drowned  by 
the  noise  of  drums  and  flutes.  When  Agathokles  de- 
feated the  Carthaginians,  the  noblest  of  the  citizens 
offered  in  expiation  three  hundred  of  their  children 
to  Baal-Moloch  " l 

The  worship  of  Ishtar2  demanded  that  every  female 
devotee  should  begin  her  womanhood  by  public  prosti- 
tution in  the  temple  of  the  goddess,  and  young  girls  were 
often  burned  upon  her  altars,  while  young  men  were 
either  burned  or  mutilated.  Abominations  even  more 
revolting  than  these  were  practiced  in  connection  with 
the  worship  of  Bel,  and  the  nations  around  her  drank 
of  her  wine  and  were  maddened  with  the  frenzy  of 
her  corruption.  What  wonder,  then,  that  even  before 
the  "Lady  of  Kingdoms"  reached  the  zenith  of  her 

i  Sayce— An.  Emp.,  p.  195.  2  Astarte  or  Ashtaroth. 


_  HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  11 

glory,  the  cry  of  the  prophets  had  rung  out  in  un- 
measured denunciation  of  her  crimes?  "Therefore 
I  will  execute  judgment  upon  the  graven  images  of 
Babylon  .  .  .  and  all  her  slain  shall  fall  in  the 
rnidst  of  her  .  .  .  the  treacherous  dealeth  treacher- 
ously, and  the  spoiler  spoileth.  Go  up,  0  Elam, 
besiege,  0  Media.  .  .  .  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen, 
and  all  the  graven  images  of  her  gods  he  hath  broken 
unto  the  ground."1 

Elam  and  Media  combined  their  forces,  and  set 
their  troops  in  battle  array,  while  hundreds  of  banners 
waved  in  the  sunlight.  "  Elam  bare  the  quiver  with 
chariots  of  men  and  horsemen,"  and  they  marched  to 
the  "  two  leaved  gates  "  of  the  city.  Every  sword  in 
the  ranks  was  true  to  the  young  commander,  and  his 
victory  was  easily  won.  Babylon  was  conquered,  and 
the  story  of  her  decay  was  written  upon  her  forehead. 
The  seat  of  government  was  removed,  the  city  was 
left  in  desolation,  and  her  gates  were  smitten  with 
destruction.  Euin  fell  upon  her  battlements,  the  owl 
and  the  bittern  dwelt  amidst  her  prostrate  columns, 
while  the  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  made  their  den  in 
her  fallen  palaces. 

IRAN   OB    PERSIA. 

Persia  is  often  called  Iran,  this  being  the  name  which 
the  Persians  themselves  gave  to  their  kingdom.  Per- 
sepolis  was  for  a  long  time  the  capital,  but  for  almost 
twelve  centuries  after  the  fall  of  that  beautiful  city, 
the  capital  was  located  at  Shlrfiz.  The  oldest  certain 
use  of  the  name  Persia  is  found  in  the  prophets,2  and 

i  Jer.  li,  47;  Isa.  xxi,  2-9.  2  Ezekiel  xxvii,  10;  xxxviii,  5. 


12  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

the  kingdom  was  formed  by  the  combination  of  the 
Medians  with  the  Persians.  These  hardy  mountaineers 
were  brave  and  merciless,  their  troops  of  horsemen, 
armed  with  lance  and  quiver,  swept  down  from  the 
highlands  with  irresistible  force,  and  drew  the  wander- 
ing tribes  of  the  East  into  one  great  army.  Frugal  in 
their  mode  of  life,  strong  in  nerve  and  sinew,  and 
severe  in  military  discipline,  even  their  kings  believed 
that  nothing  was  so  servile  as  luxury  and  nothing  so 
royal  as  toil. 

The  hardy  tribes  of  Iran  which  Cyrus  led  to  victory 
were  trained  to  manly  exercise ;  they  taught  their 
children  to  endure  hardship,  to  ride,  to  shoot  and  to 
tell  the  truth.  They  were  strangers  to  dissipation,  and 
so  loyal  to  age  that  parricide  was  inconceivable  to  them. 
The  royal  edict  was  so  inflexible  that  "  the  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians"  passed  into  a  proverb.  Their 
loyalty  to  their  kings  degenerated  into  servility,  even 
legal  injustice  being  considered  a  benefit  to  the  victim, 
for  which  he  should  be  duly  grateful.  No  edict  was 
too  severe  to  be  promptly  obeyed,  the  very  cruelty  of 
their  kings  being  considered  a  mark  of  greatness ;  they 
buried  men  alive  in  honor  of  the  elements,  they  flayed 
their  officials  for  bribery,  while  mutilation  and  stoning 
were  legal  punishments. 

This  hardy  race  of  soldiers,  that  could  rush  into 
battle,  almost  without  rations,  was  a  terror  to  the  pam- 
pered Lydian  and  the  luxurious  Babylonian,  for  the 
ideal  life  of  the  Persian  was  continual  conquest,  even 
his  symbol  of  Ormazd  being  a  winged  warrior  with  bow 
and  threatening  hand.  But  when  the  contest  was  over, 
the  conquerors  irrigated  the  plains  of  Babylonia  so 


HISTORIC    OUTLINE.  13 

faithfully  that  they  were  able  to  gather  three  harvests 
a  year  from  the  fertile  soil.  The  roads  of  the  king- 
dom were  supplied  with  post-stations,  and  constantly 
traversed  by  government  couriers,  while  a  great  com- 
mercial intercourse  was  carried  even  to  the  shores  of 
Greece.  It  was  not  an  enervated  people  that  laid  the 
wonderful  masonry  in  the  foundations  of  Persepolis, 
and  reared  the  marble  columns  that  still  mock  the 
changes  of  more  than  two  thousand  years.  But  luxury 
crept  in  with  continued  power,  and  after  a  time,  it  was 
said  that  the  royal  table  was  daily  spread  for  fifteen 
thousand  guests,  even  though  the  king  dined  alone. 
Their  nobles  were  clothed  in  purple  and  decorated  with 
jewels,  while  the  person  of  the  king  was  resplendent 
with  diamonds  and  rubies.  In  the  royal  treasury 
pearls  were  piled  up  like  the  sands  of  the  sea,  and 
diamonds  glittered  amidst  masses  of  amethyst  and  sap- 
phire. The  royal  helmet  and  buckler  flashed  with  the 
green  light  of  emeralds  and  the  crimson  fire  of  the 
ruby. 

But  still  they  retained  traces  of  the  primitive  sim- 
plicity which  belonged  to  the  early  mountain  tribes, 
and  the  constructive  energy  of  their  kings  went  on, 
building  and  planning,  and  forcing  into  their  courts 
the  splendors  of  rifled  cities.  Darius  flung  the  floating 
bridge  across  the  Bosphorus,  that  afterward  furnished 
a  highway  for  Alexander;  their  summer  palaces  rose 
upon  the  mountains  of  Media,  while  their  winter  homes, 
with  marble  pillars  and  graceful  colonnades,  were  placed 
in  sunny  vales  where  fountains  gleamed  through  the 
glossy  leaves  and  the  nightingale  built  her  nest  among 
thickets  of  roses.  It  is  said  of  Artaxerxes  that  even 


14  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

while  he  wore  upon  his  person  jewels  to  the  value  of 
thousands  of  talents,  he  would  still  lead  his  army  on 
foot  through  mountain  passes,  carrying  his  own  quiver 
and  shield,  and  forcing  his  way  up  the  most  rugged 
heights. 

The  Persians  were  quick  to  learn,  and  gladly  appro- 
priated to  themselves  the  civilization  of  Nineveh  and 
Babylon;  but  luxury  and  dissipation  will  unnerve  the 
strongest  empire,  and  after  a  time  the  designing  beau- 
ties of  the  harem  became  the  rulers  of  weak  and  wicked 
princes,  and  though  Persian  magnificence  lasted  from 
Darius  to  the  last  Persian  king,  their  final  failure  was 
due  to  their  own  corruption  as  much  as  to  the  forces 
of  Alexander  the  Great.  The  Iranian  mind  seemed  to 
be  the  harbinger  of  progress,  in  the  simplicity  of  its 
beginnings,  in  its  striving  for  the  noble,  the  manly, 
and  the  true,  but  the  selfishness  of  the  later  Persian 
kings  developed  not  only  into  luxury,  but  also  into 
dissipation :  reclining  on  couches  with  golden  feet, 
drinking  the  wines l  of  Helbon  and  Shiraz,  they  yielded 
to  no  rule  except  their  own  pleasure — there  was  no  pre- 
cept of  morality  that  they  could  not  violate  at  will,  no 
law  in  their  legal  code  that  involved  the  recognition  of 
the  rights  of  other  nations;  and  this  intense  self- 
worship  prepared  the  way  for  the  coming  conqueror. 
The  government  of  Persia  became  what  the  government 
of  Turkey  now  is — a  highly  centralized  bureaucracy,  the 
members  of  which  owed  their  offices  to  an  irresponsible 
despot ;  the  people  of  Persia  therefore  hailed  Alexander 
as  their  deliverer  from  disintegration  and  decay. 

i  The  Persians  called  wine  Zeher-e-kushon,  or  "  delightful  poison." 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  15 

PHYSICAL    FEATURES    OF    PERSIA. 

"The  Land  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun,"  presents  the 
strongest  physical  contrasts ;  with  the  king  of  the  forest 
and  the  king  of  day  emblazoned  upon  her  banners,  she 
extended  her  dominion  over  rocky  steppes  and  barren 
sands,  as  well  as  fertile  fields  and  stately  forests.  Persia 
proper  was  a  comparatively  small  province,  but  the  tide 
of  conquest  gathered  many  nations  beneath  her  banners, 
and  the  dominion  of  Cyrus  extended  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  the  Indus,  and  from  the  snowy  peaks  of  the 
Caucasus,  downward  to  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
and  the  Arabian  Sea.  The  court  of  Darius  was  enriched 
by  tributes  from  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  from  Assyria 
and  India,  from  Media,  Lydia,  Phrenicia  and  many 
other  lands. 

Modern  Persia  occupies  the  larger  portion  of  the 
great  Iranian  plateau,  which  rises  to  the  height  of 
from  four  to  eight  thousand  feet,  between  the  valleys 
of  the  Indus  and  the  Tigris,  and  covers  more  than  a 
million  square  miles.  On  the  northwest  the  Persian 
Empire  is  united  to  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor  by 
the  high  lands  of  Armenia,  while  on  the  northeast  the 
Paropansius  and  the  Hindu  Kush  connect  it  with  the 
Himalayas  of  ancient  India.  The  eastern  and  western 
boundaries  are  traced  with  more  or  less  uncertainty, 
amidst  high  ranges  of  mountains  broken  here  and 
there  by  deserts  and  valleys.  The  fertile  lowlands  are 
found  in  the  forest-clad  regions  south  of  the  Caspian 
Sea,  and  down  toward  the  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Although  she  has  of  late  exercised  but  little  influ- 
ence in  the  world's  political  councils,  she  retains  a 
fair  position  among  the  Asiatics,  and  the  fact  that  a 


16  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

portion  of  her  territory  is  under  Russian  influence, 
while  the  rest  is  controlled  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
by  England,  would  indicate  that  in  the  near  future 
her  political  position  may  become  one  of  great  impor- 
tance. She  still  occupies  a  territory  which  is  more 
than  twice  the  area  of  France,  and  her  climate  varies 
according  to  the  contrasting  features  of  her  formation, 
being  rough  and  cold  in  the  mountain  ranges,  and 
often  severe  on  the  great  table-lands  where  the  sand- 
storms rage  across  the  desert,  while  other  portions  of 
the  empire  are  luxuriant  with  tropical  foliage. 

Down  by  the  shores  of  the  gulf  the  rice  fields 
lift  their  dainty  plumes,  farther  away  the  acres  of 
barley  lie  like  golden  billows  in  the  sunlight,  and  the 
cots  of  the  peasantry  are  nestled  under  groups  of 
flowering  trees.  Beyond  them  rises  the  forest  of  al- 
most primeval  grandeur  where  the  great  trunks  of  the 
trees  are  clothed  with  velvet  mosses  and  encircled  with 
floral  vines.  Here  the  green  shades  of  the  wood  are 
relieved  by  the  vivid  scarlet  of  the  pomegranate  blos- 
soms, and  streams  that  leap  from  snowy  hills  come 
dashing  through  the  woodlands,  laden  with  life  and 
rippling  with  music.  Far  away  in  the  distance,  the 
barren  table-lands  arise,  and  beyond  these  the  moun- 
tain ridges  press  upward,  dim  and  silent  against  the 
fields  of  blue,  and  the  white  clouds  drop  their  feath- 
ery snows  upon  peaks  which  are  unsoiled  by  the  foot 
of  man. 

PERSIAX   ART. 

The  primitive  cradle  of  art  has  been  found  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  17 

It  has  been  shown  that  Greece  was  largely  indebted 
to  the  sculptured  slabs  and  columns  of  Nineveh  for 
her  first  models,  and  perhaps  also  to  the  pictured 
walls  of  Babylon  for  the  inspiration  that  glowed  upon 
her  canvas.  But  Asiatic  art,  like  Oriental  literature, 
is  tropical  in  its  luxuriance  and  gorgeous  in  its  decor- 
rations.  The  classic  taste  of  Greece  subdued  its  more 
extravagant  features,  and  presented  the  simplicity  of 
chaste  designs.  The  Persians,  with  their  spirit  of 
monopoly,  appropriated  the  sculptured  forms  of  fallen 
Nineveh,  and  absorbed  also  the  love  of  painting,  and 
the  passion  for  gorgeous  draperies,  which  were  charac- 
teristic of  Babylon. 

But  the  Iranian  race  had  not  the  patience  of  fine 
detail  and  elaboration  which  is  found  in  the  old 
Assyrian  sculptures,  the  military  dash  of  the  early 
warring  tribes  showed  itself  even  in  their  statuary. 
The  partial  stiffness  of  their  outlines  was,  however, 
atoned  for  in  the  spirited  poise  of  their  figures.  They 
presented  but  few  pictures  of  domestic  life,  but 
there  were  hunting  scenes  and  battle  fields,  terrific 
struggles  of  their  heroes  with  wild  animals,  and  the 
triumphant  march  of  their  conquerors — there  were 
gorgeous  processions  bearing  tributes  to  the  king,  and 
historic  pictures  of  his  victories.  Darius  the  Great 
was  often  represented  in  simple  dress,  but  always  in 
the  attitude  of  heroism  or  tragedy,  sometimes  grasp- 
ing a  monster  by  the  horn,  while  he  drives  the  dagger 
into  its  vitals,  and  again,  with  the  symbol  of  Ormazd 
hovering  in  a  winged  circle  above  him,  he  conquers 
the  king  of  the  forest. 

In  his  Behistun  inscriptions  he  is  represented  as  the 


18  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

"king  of  kings,"  standing  with  his  right  foot  on  the 
prostrate  form  of  a  conquered  foe,  while  nine  cap- 
tive kings  stand  before  him,  with  their  hands  in  bonds 
and  their  heads  uncrowned.  The  wondrous  architec- 
ture of  Persepolis,  though  laid  with  massive  masonry, 
was  made  rich  and  graceful  as  that  of  a  Greek  temple, 
for  the  lofty  marble  pillars,  more  than  sixty  feet  in 
height,  were  finished  with  capitals  of  sculptured  ani- 
mals reposing  upon  beds  of  lotus  blossoms. 

Their  helmets  and  breastplates  were  often  inlaid 
with  silver  and  enameled  with  gold,  and  as  the  troops 
marched  to  the  field  of  battle,  the  sun  flashed  upon 
shields  where  pictures  of  Zal  and  Eustem  were  inlaid 
with  burnished  gold l  and  the  designs  upon  the  royal 
armor  were  resplendent  with  rubies  and  diamonds. 

Persian  art  has  been  essentially  industrial,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  what  is  known  as  Russia  leather  was  first 
manufactured  in  Persia,  while  legend  says,  that  the 
artisans  achieved  their  success  by  carrying  their  work 
to  the  peak  of  Mount  Elvend,  where  the  lightnings 
imparted  a  peculiar  value  to  the  texture. 

The  arts  of  Nineveh,  of  Babylon,  and  of  Egypt 
culminated  in  the  ages  past,  but  the  rare  porcelains, 
tiles,  and  mosaics — the  vases  and  carved  metals  of  Per- 
sia, are  still  the  pride  of  Asia.  Their  carpets,  tapes- 
tries and  brocades  are  unrivaled  in  the  markets  of  the 
world,  while  the  richly  embroidered  shawls  and  por- 
tieres of  Kerman  still  present  their  delicate  combina- 
tions of  palm  leaves  with  the  soft  coloring  of  the 
floral  borders. 

i  Scarcely  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  burnished  shields  and  hel- 
mets of  ancient  Persian  royalty  were  laid  aside  for  the  lighter  military 
accoutrements  of  modern  Europe. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  19 

MANUSCRIPTS. 

One  of  the  important  features  of  art  is  exhib- 
ited in  their  beautiful  manuscripts,  where  the  finest 
calligraphy  is  often  combined  with  floral  designs 
upon  a  golden  background.  The  letters  of  their  lan- 
guage run  easily  and  gracefully  into  each  other,  and 
the  Egyptian  reeds  with  which  they  write,  are  fash- 
ioned for  the  finest  touches  of  the  penman. 

Calligraphy  is  called  "a  golden  profession,"  and  a 
small  but  exquisite  copy  of  the  Koran  has  been  valued 
at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  while  the  artistic  pen- 
man, who  executed  a  copy  of  a  popular  poem,  had  his 
mouth  stuffed  with  pearls,  in  addition  to  the  promised 
reward. 

Less  fortunate,  however,  was  Mir  Amar,  a  celebrated 
calligraphist  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Being  summoned 
to  court  to  prepare  an  elaborate  copy  of  the  Shah 
Namah,  and  his  progress  being  too  slow  to  satisfy  the 
royal  ambition,  his  beautiful  manuscript  was  torn  to 
pieces  before  his  eyes,  and  Mir  Amar  was  then  hastened 
to  the  executioner.  Yet  such  was  the  extreme  beauty 
of  his  work,  that  after  the  lapse  of  three  hundred 
years,  short  screeds  from  his  pen  are  set  in  gold  and 
sold  at  fabulous  prices. 

Although  the  printing  press  is  invading  the  domain 
of  the  Persian  scribe,  the  art  of  calligraphy  is  still  cul- 
tivated, and  artistic  penmen  are  held  in  great  repute. 

EARLY   LITERATURE. 

It  is  evident  that  the  early  kings  of  Persia  pos- 
sessed royal  libraries,  containing  historical  records  and 


20  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

official  decrees,  for  in  the  book  of  Ezra1  it  is  said  that 
"search  was  made  in  the  house  of  rolls,"  in  Babylon, 
for  the  imperial  decree  of  Cyrus  concerning  the  re- 
building of  the  temple.  It  was  afterwards  found  at 
Ecbatana  "in  the  palace  that  is  in  the  province  of  the 
Medes,"  the  decree  having  been  made  in  the  first  year 
of  King  Cyrus.  But  aside  from  some  of  the  inscrip- 
tions, the  earliest  literature  we  now  have  belonging  to 
this  people  is  the  Zend-Avesta,  our  present  version  of 
which  was  possibly  derived  from  texts  which  already 
existed  in  the  time  of  the  Achaemenian  kings.  Al- 
though there  are  no  facts  to  prove  that  the  text  of 
the  Avesta  as  we  now  possess  it  was  committed  to 
writing  previous  to  the  Sassanian  dynasty2  Prof.  Dar- 
mesteter  thinks  it  possible  that  "Herodotus  may  have 
heard  the  Magi  sing,  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ, 
the  very  same  Gathas  which  are  sung  now  a  days  by 
the  Mobeds  of  Bombay."3 

As  some  of  these  early  texts  must  have  existed  be- 
fore the  fifth  century  B.  C.  we  place  them  chronolog- 
ically before  the  inscriptions  of  Darius  the  Great.4 

Historians  claim  that  ancient  Persian  manuscripts 
were  destroyed,  when  Alexander,  in  a  condition  of 
drunkenness,  ordered  the  beautiful  city  of  Persepolis  to 
be  set  on  fire,  in  order  to  please  the  courtesan  Thais. 

The  modern  worshippers  of  Alexander,  however, 
have  placed  around  his  name  all  the  possible  glory  of 
military  achievement  with  a  vast  amount  of  rhetoric, 
concerning  "the  young  hero"  and  "the  thunder  of 

i  Ezra  vi,  1.  2  226  A.  D. 

3  Darmesteter,  Sa.  Bks.  of  the  E.,  Vol.  IV,  Int.,  p.  3. 
*  These  appear  to  have  been  written  upon  the  face  of  the  Behistun  rock 
about  515  B.  C. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  •  21 

his  tread."  They  claim,  indeed,  that  he  had  very  few 
faults,  except  cruelty,  drunkenness,  and  some  worse 
forms  of  dissipation.  Their  defense  of  this  barbarous 
act  is  that  "only  the  palace  and  its  environs  were 
burned"  at  this  particular  time,  and  that  this  was  an 
act  of  requital  for  the  pillage  of  Athens,  and  also  to  im- 
press the  Persians  with  a  due  sense  of  his  own  impor- 
tance. Whatever  may  have  been  the  motive,  or  physical 
condition,  of  the  incendiary,  it  is  highly  probable  that 
when  the  palace,  and  its  environs  were  burned,  the 
royal  libraries  went  down  in  the  flames,  and  certain  it 
is,  that  from  the  time  of  the  Macedonian  conquest  to 
the  foundation  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty,  the  history 
of  the  Persian  language  and  literature  is  almost  a  blank 
page.  The  legends  of  the  Sassanian  coins,  the  inscrip- 
tions of  their  emperors,  and  the  translation  of  the 
Avesta,  by  Sassanian  scholars,  represent  another  phase 
of  the  language  and  literature  of  Iran. 

The  men  who,  at  the  rising  of  the  new  national 
dynasty,  became  the  reformers,  teachers,  and  prophets 
of  Persia,  formed  their  language  and  the  whole  train 
of  their  ideas  upon  a  Semitic  model.  The  grammar  of 
the  Sassaniau  dialect,  however,  was  Persian,  and  "this 
was  a  period  of  religious  and  metaphysical  delirium, 
when  everything  became  everything,  when  Maya  and 
Sophia,  Mitra  and  Christ,  Viraf  and  Isaiah,  Belus  and 
Kronos  were  mixed  up  in  one  jumbled  system  of  in- 
ane speculation,  from  which  at  last  the  East  was  de- 
livered by  the  doctrines  of  Mohammed,  and  the  West 
by  the  pure  Christianity  of  the  Teutonic  nations."1 

It  was  five  hundred  years    after    Alexander    before 

J  Max  Muller-Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  91. 


22  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

Persian  literature  and  religion  were  revived,  and  the 
books  of  the  Zend-Avesta  collected,  either  from  scattered 
manuscripts  or  from  oral  tradition.  The  first  collection 
of  traditions,  which  finally  resulted  in  the  Shah-Namah, 
was  made  also  during  the  Sassanian  dynasty.  FirdusI 
tells  us  that  there  was  a  Pahlevan,  of  the  family  of  the 
Dihkans,1  who  loved  to  study  the  traditions  of  antiq- 
uity. He  therefore  summoned  from  the  provinces,  all 
the  old  men  who  could  remember  portions  of  the  ancient 
legends,  and  questioned  them  concerning  the  stories  of 
the  country.  The  Dihkan  then  wrote  down  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  kings  and  the  changes  in  the  empire  as 
.they  had  been  recited  to  him.  But  this  work,  which 
was  commenced  under  Nushirvan  and  finished  under 
Yezdejird,  the  last  of  the  Sassanians,  was  destroyed  by 
the  command  of  Omar,  the  Arabian  chieftain. 

The  scanty  literature  of  the  Sassanian  age  was  some- 
what augmented  by  a  notable  collection  of  Sanskrit  fables 
which  was  brought  to  the  court  of  the  Persian  king,- 
Koshrou,2  and  translated  into  the  Persian,  or  PahlavT 
tongue.  This  collection  comprised  the  fables  of  the  Pan- 
catantra  and  the  Hitopadesa,  and  from  it  the  later  Euro- 
pean fables  of  La  Fontaine  probably  originated. 

THE   MOHAMMEDAN   CONQUEST. 

The  warring  tribes  of  the  desert  massed  themselves 
together  under  the  banner  of  the  crescent.  They  were 
animated  by  Mohammed's  doctrine  of  anarchy  —  the 
claim  of  a  common  right  to  their  neighbors'  goods, 
and  trained  to  dash  into  the  very  jaws  of  death  by  his 

1  The  Dihkans  were  the  landed  nobility  of  Persia.    They  kept  up  a  certain 
independence,  even  under  the  sway  of  the  Mohammedan  Khalifs. 

2  About  570  A.  D.    See  Quartremere. 


HISTORIC  OUTLINE.  23 

promise  of  a  sensual  heaven  to  every  man  who  fell 
upon  the  battle-field. 

Therefore  these  fearless  sons  of  the  desert,  stimula- 
ted by  hunger  and  avarice,  swept  with  irresistible  force 
over  the  fair  provinces  around  them.  They  raided  the 
great  cities  of  Central  Asia,  and  gathered  to  them- 
selves the  treasures,  which  had  been  hoarded  by  the 
Aryan  and  the  Turk.  When  in  the  seventh  century 
they  saw  Persia  weakened  by  internal  dissensions  and 
foreign  wars,  they  gladly  gathered  under  the  standard 
of  Omar  to  descend  upon  the  wealth  of  her  cities. 

It  was  an  old  quarrel  that  they  longed  to  settle 
with  the  Sassanian  kings,  reaching  back  through  the 
history  of  their  tribes  to  the  time  when  they  had 
raided  northern  Persia,  and  had  been  driven  back  by 
Ardeshir  —  they  remembered,  too,  that  Shapur  had 
afterward  ravaged  Arabia  to  the  very  gates  of  Medina, 
and  seized  their  territory  down  to  the  shores  of  Ye- 
men, on  the  southern  sea.  All  the  force  of  traditional 
hatred  and  revenge  was  therefore  added  to  their  ava- 
rice, and  lust  for  power,  when  these  fearless  warriors 
sprang  to  the  saddle  and  rode  to  the  conquest  of 
Persia.  Their  terrible  war-cry  of  Allah-il-Allah,  rang 
through  rifled  cities,  and  seemed  to  rise  from  the  very 
dust  which  was  spurned  from  the  feet  of  Arabian 
horses,  until  Persian  nationality  was  crushed  by  the 
invaders.  Her  treasures  of  literature  were  again  de- 
stroyed, so  far  as  the  conquerors  could  complete  their 
work  of  devastation,  and  the  altar  fires  of  the  Pilrsis 
were  quenched  in  the  long  night  of  Mohammedan 
rule,  while  the  Koran  supplanted  the  A  vesta  even  upon 
its  native  soil. 


24  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

LITERATURE   OF   MODERN    PERSIA. 

Modern  Persian  literature  may  be  said  to  begin  with 
the  reconstruction  of  the  National  Epic.1  This  work 
marks  an  important  era,  in  even  the  language  of  Per- 
sia, for  it  seems  to  close  the  biography  of  that  peculiar 
tongue.  There  has  been  but  little,  of  either  growth 
or  decay,  in  its  structure  since  that  period,  although 
it  becomes  more  and  more  encumbered  with  foreign 
words. 

The  Persian  Epic  could  be  reconstructed  only  when 
the  national  feeling  began  to  reassert  itself,  and  it 
was  at  this  period  that  the  patriotism  of  the  people 
began  to  recover  from  the  benumbing  pressure  of  Mo- 
hammedan rule,  and  especially  in  the  eastern  portions 
of  the  empire,  a  distinctively  Persian  spirit  was  re- 
vived. It  is  true  that  Mohammedanism  had  taken 
root  even  in  the  national  party,  but  the  Arabic  tongue 
was  no  longer  favored  by  the  governors  of  the  eastern 
provinces.  Persian  again  became  the  court  language 
of  these  dignitaries,  the  native  poets  were  encouraged 
and  began  to  collect  once  more  the  traditions  of  the 
empire. 

It  is  claimed  that  Jacob,  the  son  of  Leis/  the  first 
prince  of  Persian  blood,  who  declared  himself  inde- 
pendent of  the  Caliphs,  procured  fragments  of  tbe  early 
National  Epic,  and  had  it  rearranged  and  continued. 
Then  followed  the  dynasty  of  the  Samanians  who 
claimed  descent  from  the  Sassanian  kings,  and  they 
pursued  the  same  popular  policy.  The  later  dynasty 
of  the  Gaznevides  also  encouraged  the  growth  of  the 

11000  A.  D.  2870  A.  D. 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  25 

national  spirit,  and  the  great  Persian  Epic  was  written 
during  the  reign  of  Mahmud  the  Great,  who  was  the 
second  king  of  the  Gaznevide  dynasty.  By  his  com- 
mand, collections  of  old  books  were  made  all  over  the 
empire,  and  men  who  knew  the  ancient  poems  were 
summoned  to  his  court.  It  was  from  these  materials 
that  Firdusi  composed  his  Shah-Namah.  "  Tradi- 
tions," says  the  poet,  "  have  been  given  me ;  noth- 
ing of  what  is  worth  knowing  has  been  forgotten; 
all  that  I  shall  say  others  have  said  before  me." 

Hence  the  heroes  in  the  Shah-Namah  exhibit  many 
of  the  traits  of  the  Vedic  deities — traits  which  have 
lived  through  the  Zoroastrian  period,  the  Achaemeniau 
dynasty,  the  Macedonian  rule,  the  Parthian  wars,  and 
even  the  Arabian  conquest,  to  be  reproduced  in  the 
poem  of  Firdusi. 

The  modern  phase  of  their  literature  is  emphat- 
ically an  age  of  poetry ;  the  Persians  of  these  later 
centuries  seem  to  have  been  born  with  a  song  on  their 
lips,  for  their  poets  are  numbered  by  thousands.  Not 
only  their  books  of  polite  literature,  but  their  histories, 
ethics  and  science,  nay,  even  their  mathematics  and 
grammar  are  written  in  rhyme.  There  are  many  vol- 
umes of  these  productions  that  cannot  be  dignified  by 
the  name  of  poetry,  but  their  literature  is  tropical  in 
its  development  and  their  annals  bear  the  names  of 
many  illustrious  poets.  Firdusi,  author  of  the  great 
Epic,  must  always  stand  at  the  head  of  Persian  poetry ; 
but  Sa'dl  with  his  Bustan  and  Gulistan,  will  ever  be 
a  favorite  with  his  own  people. 

Nizami  of  the  twelfth  century  has  given  us,  per- 
haps, the  best  version  of  the  beautiful  Arabian  trag- 


26  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

edy  of  Lili  and  Majnun,  and  Hafiz  says  of  the  author: 

"Not  all  the  treasured  lore  of  ancient  days 
Can  boast  the  sweetness  of  Nizami's  lays." 

The  clear  and  harmonious  style  of  Hafiz,  who  be- 
longed to  the  fourteenth  century,  has  a  fascination  of 
its  own,  and  it  is  claimed  that  the  prophet  Khizer  car- 
ried to  the  waiting  lips  of  the  poet  the  water  from 
the  fountain  of  life,  and  therefore  his  words  are  im- 
mortal among  the  sons  of  men. 

Jami  is  entitled  to  a  goodly  rank  in  the  world  of 
poetry,  even  though  his  Yusuf  and  Zulaikha,  which  has 
also  been  versified  by  many  other  Persian  poets,  seems 
to  have  been  written  for  the  express  purpose  of  showing 
how  an  unprincipled  woman  may  pursue  a  good  man 
for  a  series  of  years,  marry  him  at  last,  almost  against 
his  will,  and  make  him  wish  himself  in  heaven  the 
next  day.  The  Persians  may  well  be  called  the  Italians 
of  Asia,  for,  although  they  are  burdened  with  senti- 
ment and  a  certain  exuberance  of  style,  which  meets 
with  little  favor  in  our  colder  clime,  we  accord  them 
our  sympathy  in  the  beauty  of  their  dreams  and  the 
tenderness  of  their  thought. 

PERSIAN   ROMANCE. 

The  Arabic  and  even  the  Turkish  tongue  has  intruded 
upon  the  classic  Persian  of  Firdusi,  but  as  the  English 
has  borrowed  from  all  nations,  and  yet  retains  its  own 
individuality,  so  also  the  Persian  tongue,  while  absorbing 
and  adapting  the  wealth  of  others,  still  retains  its  per- 
sonal character,  modified  only  by  the  changes  of  time. 

In  borrowing  from  the  language  of  her  neighbors, 


HISTORIC   OUTLINE.  27 

Persia  has  not  hesitated  to  adopt  also  portions  of  their 
literature.  During  the  reign  of  the  Moslem  kings  the 
choicest  mental  productions  from  India,  and  even  from 
Greece,  found  the  way  to  their  courts.  Alp  Arslan, 
around  whose  throne  stood  twelve  hundred  princes,  was 
a  lover  of  letters,  and  from  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates 
to  the  feet  of  the  Himalayas  a  wealth  of  literature  was 
called,  to  be  wrought  up  by  Persian  scholars  and  poets 
under  royal  patronage.  There  was  an  active  rivalry 
in  literary  culture,  and  much  of  the  fire  of  Arabian 
poetry  brightened  the  pages  of  Persian  romance.  There 
were  the  mystic  lights  and  shadows  of  nomadic  life, 
and  desert  voices  mingled  with  the  strains  of  native 
singers. 

The  terrible  contrasts  of  life  and  death — the  unyield- 
ing resentments  and  jealousies  —  passionate  loves  and 
hates,  which  are  so  distinctively  Arabian,  began  to  fill 
the  pages  of  Iranian  romance  with  tragedy. 

Even  the  vivid  description  of  the  Moslems  could 
scarcely  add  to  the  gorgeousness  of  Persian  fancy,  where 
Oriental  lovers  wandered  in  the  greenest  of  valleys,  while 
around  them  floated  the  soft  perfume  of  the  orange 
blossoms.  It  could  not  add  to  the  fabulous  wealth  of 
their  nobles,  where  camels  were  burdened  with  the 
choicest  of  gems,  and  vines  of  gold  were  laden  with 
grapes  of  amethyst.  But  it  did  add  the  element  of 
fierce  revenge  and  the  tragedy  of  violent  death,  repre- 
sented by  the  pitiless  simoon  and  the  shifting  sand 
column,  the  hopeless  wastes,  the  bitter  waters,  and  the 
dry  bones  of  perished  caravans.  It  added  the  life- 
springs  of  the  oasis,  as  well  as  the  rushing  whirlwind; 
it  added  the  palm  tree  of  the  desert,  with  her  feet  in 


28  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  burning  sand  and  her  head  in  the  morning  light — 
a  symbol  of  the  watch-fires  of  faith  above  the  desert 
places  of  life.  The  best  literature  of  Persia  in  our  own 
age  is  largely  the  reproduction  in  various  forms  of  her 
standard  poets;  her  romances,  however,  still  rival  the 
Arabian  Nights  in  their  startling  combinations  and 
bewildering  descriptions.  The  imagination  of  her  writ- 
ers is  not  bound  by  the  rules  of  our  northern  clime, 
and  there  is  nothing  too  wild  or  improbable  to  find  a 
place  in  Oriental  story.  There  are  rayless  caverns  of 
sorcery  in  a  wilderness  of  mystery;  there  are  mountains 
of  emerald1  and  hills  of  ruby2;  there  are  enchanted 
valleys,  rich  with  fabulous  treasure,  and  rivers  gushing 
from  fairy  fountains.  There  is  always  the  grand  upris- 
ing of  the  king  of  day  and  the  endless  cycle  of  the 
stars — for  this  poetic  people  cannot  forget  the  teaching 
of  the  Pars!  and  the  Sabean.  In  the  literature  found 
on  the  banks  of  these  southern  seas  there  is  also  the 
restfulness  of  night,  with  its  coolness  and  dews,  to  be 
followed  by  the  glory  of  the  morning  and  the  fra- 
grance from  the  hearts  of  the  roses. 

Persian  literature  rings  with  voices  from  ruined 
cities,  and  mingles  the  story  of  the  past  with  the 
dreams  of  her  future.  Her  treasures  are  drawn  from 
the  records  of  Chaldean  kings;  her  historic  pictures 
have  caught  the  light  of  early  crowns  and  repeated 
the  story  of  their  magnificence.  Her  annals  are  filled 
with  the  victories  of  her  Cyrus,  with  the  extended 

iln  Persian  mythology  the  earth  is  surrounded  by  a  mountain  range 
of  pure  emerald. 

2 "The  Ausindom  mountain  is  that  which,  being  of  ruby,  of  the  sub- 
stance of  the  sky,  is  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  Vouru-Kasha."— Zend-Avesta 
-Tir  Yost,  VI,  32,  n. 


HISTOKIC   OUTLINE.  29 

dominions  of  her  great  Darius,  and  the  gorgeousness 
of  her  later  sovereigns.  Her  poets  have  immortal- 
ized her  myths  as  well  as  her  heroes,  and  the  Oriental 
world  has  contributed  to  the  pages  of  her  romance. 


CHAPTER  II. 

< 

THE   CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS. 

EARLY  LITERATURE — HISTORIC  TABLETS — THE  INSCRIP- 
TIONS OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR — THE  FALL  OF  BABYLON 
—  CYRUS,  THE  ACH.EMENIAN — BEHISTUN  INSCRIP- 
TIONS—  DARIUS  AT  PERSEPOLIS  —  INSCRIPTIONS  OF 
XERXES— ARTAXERXES — A  LATER  PERSIAN  TABLET — 
RESUME. 

THE  early  literature  of  Persia  takes  root  in  ancient 
soil,  and  the  foundation  of  her  world  of  letters 
must  be  sought  for  amidst  the  graven  stones  of  for- 
gotten tribes.  The  Persian  heritage  was  not  only  the 
land  of  ancient  Babylonia,  but  also  the  Chaldean  and 
Semitic  lore,  which  lay  in  the  vaults  of  her  kings,  or 
lived  upon  the  marble  walls  of  her  ruined  palaces. 

The  story  of  a  great  civilization,  and  the  poetry,  as 
well  as  the  prose  of  human  history,  were  recorded 
upon  the  rocks  or  buried  beneath  the  soil  of  Mesopo- 
tamia. It  was  even  written  in  gold  and  alabaster, 
and  placed  in  the  corner-stones  of  temples  that  have 
lain  beneath  the  tread  of  armies  for  three  thousand 
years.  When  the  stone  is  rolled  away  from  the  sep- 
ulchre of  a  buried  literature,  and  the  records  of  for- 
gotten ages  come  with  resurrection  power  into  the 
living  present,  the  heart  of  man  must  listen  to  the 
voice  of  these  historic  witnesses. 


THE   CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  31 

One  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  modern  science  is 
the  solution  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  antiquity. 
To  the  herculean  labors  of  Grotofend,  Bournouf,  Las- 
sen,  Rawlinson,  Layard,  Oppert,  Rassam,  Sayce,  Talbot, 
and  others,  the  world  owes  a  debt  it  can  never  pay. 
Their  solution  of  these  obscure  alphabets,  and  the 
language,  grammar  and  meaning  of  these  old  inscrip- 
tions rank  with  the  grandest  discoveries  of  modern 
science.  They  have  not  hesitated  to  devote  their  lives 
to  the  drudgery  of  cuneiform  study,  a  score  of  years 
if  necessary,  being  given  to  the  solution  of  a  single 
inscription.  Without  their  long,  unceasing  labor  many 
of  the  most  valuable  records  of  the  past  must  have 
remained  a  sealed  book.  In  vain  would  the  spade 
of  the  explorer  have  exhumed  the  imperial  libraries 
of  Sennacherib  and  Nebuchadnezzar  if  no  light  could 
be  thrown  upon  their  strange  inscriptions.  In  vain 
would  the  historic  tablets  of  Karnak,  or  the  cylin- 
ders of  Babylon  be  brought  before  the  bar  of  modern 
criticism,  if  no  key  could  be  found  to  their  prob- 
lems. It  has  been  necessary  to  bring  to  this  formid- 
able task  an  understanding  of  the  Chaldaic,  and  also 
of  the  old  Accadian  tongue.  But  even  this  did 
not  suffice,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  do 
more  than  to  decipher  a  few  proper  names  on  the 
walls  of  Persian  palaces  without  the  aid  of  other 
ancient  languages.  As  Lassen  remarks:  "It  seems  in- 
deed providential  that  these  inscriptions  should  be 
rescued  from  the  dust  of  centuries  at  the  very  time 
when  the  discovery  of  Zend  and  Sanskrit  had  enabled 
Europeans  to  successfully  grapple  with  their  difficul- 
ties, for  at  any  other  period  in  the  world's  history 


32  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

they  could  only  have  been  a  strange  combination  of 
wedges1  or  arrow  heads,  even  in  the  eyes  of  Oriental 
scholars."  It  is  difficult  to  appreciate  the  long  and 
tedious  processes  by  which  these  men  were  compelled 
to  shape  their  own  intellectual  tools,  and  test  their 
own  laborious  methods  ;  but  even  to  those  who  have 
not  time  to  follow  their  intricate  path  of  research,  the 
result  of  their  labors  is  indeed  marvelous.  The  accu- 
racy of  their  work  has  been  sufficiently  verified.  At 
the  suggestion  of  the  Eoyal  Asiatic  Society,  four  trans- 
lations of  several  hundred  lines  of  the  inscription  of 
Tiglath-Pileser  I.  were  made  independently  by  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson,  Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  Dr.  Hincks  and 
Dr.  Oppert,  and  submitted  under  seal  to  the  secretary 
of  that  society.  When  opened  and  compared,  it  was 
found  that  they  exhibited  a  remarkable  resemblance  to 
each  other,  even  in  the  transliteration  of  proper 
names,  and  the  rendering  of  individual  passages.  This 
triumphant  result  abundantly  proved  the  fact  that 
their  method  was  a  sound  one,  and  that  they  were 
working  on  a  solid  basis. 

Absolute  certainty,  of  course,  is  unattainable  at 
present,  but  the  decipherment  of  these  inscriptions  has 
reached  a  degree  of  accuracy  sufficient  for  all  practical 
purposes.  Scholars,  perhaps,  will  always  dispute  about 
the  exact  meaning  of  certain  words  or  phrases,  as  they 
do  in  reference  to  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scriptures, 
but  in  either  case  it  is  seldom  that  any  important 
point  turns  upon  the  particular  shade  of  meaning. 
Still,  it  is  evident  that  the  Orientalists  who  have  un- 

i  Cuneiform  means  "  having  the  form  of  a  wedge,"  and  is  especially 
applied  to  the  wedge-shaped  or  arrow-headed  characters  of  ancient  in- 
scriptions. 


THE  CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  33 

dertaken   to    restore   the    early   chronology    of    Assyria 
and  Babylonia  have  a  difficult  task  in  hand. 

One  of  the  points  most  surely  settled  by  the  de- 
ciphering of  these  inscriptions  is,  that  so  far  as  cer- 
tain peoples  are  concerned  the  world  of  letters  extends 
much  farther  back  than  has  generally  been  supposed. 

HISTORIC  TABLETS. 

There  are  philological  tablets  which  are  apparently 
designed,  in  some  cases,  to  give  the  manner  in  which 
the  names  of  Semitic  kings  were  pronounced  or  writ- 
ten by  their  Accadian  subjects. 

An  instance  of  this  is  found  in  the  name  of  Sargon 
of  Accad,  the  ancient  hero  of  the  Semitic  population 
of  Chaldea,  who  founded  the  first  Semitic  empire  in  the 
country  and  established  a  great  library  in  his  capital 
city,  Accad,  near  Sippara.  The  seal  of  his  librarian, 
which  is  of  beautiful  workmanship,  is  now  in  Paris, 
and  has  been  published  by  M.  de  Clercq,1  while  a  copy 
of  his  annals,  together  with  those  of  his  son  Narain- 
Sin,  may  be  found  in  Western  Asia  Inscriptions.1 

Among  these  early  records  we  also  find  tablets 3  which 
have  been  exhumed,  placed  in  the  British  Museum  and 
translated,  bearing  the  old  Assyrian  record  of  the  flood, 
which  is  marvelously  like  the  account  found  in  Genesis, 
even  to  the  "building  of  the  ship,"  which  contained 
"  the  seed  of  all  life,"  and  the  raven  and  the  dove 
which  were  sent  forth  from  its  windows  after  the  waters 
began  to  recede.  Another  tablet4  describes  the  build- 

i  Collection  de  Clercq,  PI.  5.  No.  46. 

24-34. 

s  Deluge  Tablets  in  British  Museum,  Records  of  the  Past,  1-133. 

'«  Marked  K  3657  in  British  Museum.    Trans,  by  Geo.  Smith. 


34  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

ing  of  some  great  tower  or  "stronghold/'  apparently 
by  command  of  the  king,  but  the  gods  are  represented 
as  being  angry,  for  it  is  stated  that  "  Babylon  corruptly 
to  sin  went,  and  small  and  great  mingled  on  the  mound. 
.  To  their  stronghold  in  the  night  he  made  an 
end.  In  anger  also  the  secret  counsel  he  poured  out — 
to  scatter  (them  abroad)  his  face  he  set.  He  gave  a 
command  to  make  strange  their  speech.  .  .  .  Vio- 
lently they  wept — very  much  they  wept." 

There  is  a  fragment  of  a  tablet,1  on  which  was  writ- 
ten an  Accadian  poem ;  on  being  translated  it  was 
found  to  contain  a  description  of  certain  cities,  of  which 
the  names  were  not  given.  It  was  recorded,  however, 
that  they  were  destroyed  by  a  rain  of  fire,  and  the 
legend  gives  an  account  of  a  person  who  escaped  the 
general  destruction. 

The  inscriptions  of  ancient  kings  reveal  to  a  certain 
extent  the  times  and  the  facts  connected  with  their 
reigns,  but  in  discussing  the  tablets  and  monuments, 
the  pillars  and  palace  walls  of  these  royal  historians,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  heathen  kings  were 
far  from  infallible,  and  whatever  resulted  in  their  own 
aggrandizement  was  most  eagerly  recorded,  while  their 
military  defeats  and  political  humiliations  were  either 
passed  over  in  silence  or  qualified  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  virtually  lose  their  force.  This  is  especially  true  of 
Sennacherib,  who  has  the  reputation  among  Assyriolo- 
gists  of  being  "the  least  trustworthy  of  the  royal 
historians  of  Assyria."  Nevertheless,  these  records  are 
of  inestimable  value  as  giving  an  account  of  their  own 
wars  and  achievements  by  interested  participants. 

i  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  Vol.  19.  Trans,  by  Prof.  Sayce,  Records 
of  Past,  11-119. 


THE  CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  35 

A  hexagonal  prism  of  clay,  which  was  found  at 
Nineveh  and  carried  to  the  British  Museum1  contains 
an  account  of  the  first  eight  years  of  the  reign  of  Sen- 
nacherib and  of  his  siege  of  Jerusalem  under  the  reign 
of  King  Hezekiah,  when,  according  to  the  tablets,  the 
king  of  Jerusalem  "had  given  command  to  strengthen 
the  bulwarks  of  the  great  gate  of  the  city,"  when  it 
was  found  to  be  so  strong  that  the  Assyrian  king  re- 
frained from  assaulting  it.2 

The  strange  libraries  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  abounded 
also  in  astronomical  and  astrological  reports,  the  records 
of  lawsuits,  contract  tablets  and  other  inscriptions,  also 
a  number  of  official  dispatches  sent  by  the  king  of 
Jerusalem  and  other  potentates  to  foreign  courts. 

There  are  also  Assyrian  deeds  of  real  estate,3  bills  of 
sale  of  Israelites  for  slaves,  also  a  bill  of  sale  of  a 
woman  to  an  Egyptian  lady  (Nitocris),  who  made  the 
purchase  in  order  to  obtain  a  wife  for  her  son,  as  well 
as  the  contract  tablets  of  Belshazzar,  and  the  "annals" 
of  other  kings. 

Hundreds  of  these  historic  tablets  have  been  brought 
to  light,  for  the  soil  ruled  over  by  Persian  kings  was 
indeed  rich  in  this  imperishable  literature.  Manu- 
scripts may  fade  beneath  the  touch  of  time,  or  be 
burned  by  barbarian  invaders,  but  these  clay  tablets 
have  safely  kept  their  records  beneath  the  dust  of 
centuries,  and  the  germs  of  their  thought  lived,  and 
were  developed  among  other  races,  after  they  had  lain 
for  ages  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates. 

1  Brit.  Mus.  Ins.,  Plates  37-42.    Trans,  by  Ravvlinson. 

2  Annals,  Col.  3,  line  24.    Also  2  Chron.  xxxii,  5. 

3  These  deeds  are  attested  by  the  seal  impressions,  or  in  lieu  thereof  by 
the  nail  marks  of  the  parties  to  whom  they  belonged.    Many  of  them  have 
been  translated.—  W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen. 


36  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

THE    INSCRIPTIONS    OF    NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 

These  annals  begin  by  declaring  him  to  be  "  the  King 
of  Babylon,  the  exalted  prince,  the  worshipper  of  the 
god  Marduk,  the  prince  supreme,  the  beloved  of  the  god 
Nebo."  This  mighty  king  was  the  patron  of  all  forms 
of  idolatry,  and  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  his 
reign  appears  to  have  been  the  restoration  of  the  idol 
temples,  and  the  reconstruction  of  their  images.  The 
first  or  "lofty-headed,"  was  the  shrine  of  the  god  Bel. 
The  celebrated  golden  image  which  Nebuchadnezzar  set 
up  represented  this  god.1  There  is  but  little  genuine 
history 2  in  his  inscriptions,  as  he  seemed  to  consider  the 
account  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  city,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  idol  temples,  of  more  importance  than  the  record 
of  his  military  triumphs.  The  work  of  rebuilding 
Babylon  was  surely  a  necessity,  for  the  Babylonians 
having  rebelled,  Sennacherib  had  almost  wholly  destroyed 
it.3  The  vengeance  of  the  Assyrian  king  must  have 
been  terrible,  for  in  the  Bavian  inscription,  he  declares 
that  he  swept  the  city  from  end  to  end — that  he 
destroyed  the  houses,  threw  down  the  wall  and  forti- 
fications, and  the  ruins  were,  by  his  order,  thrown 
into  the  river.  It  is  true  that  he  and  Assur-bani-pal 
reconstructed  many  buildings,  but  Babylon4  never  re- 

1  Concerning  the  statue  of  Bel,  see  Daniel,  chap,  iii;  Herodotus,  bk.  I; 
Strabo,  XIV;  Pliny,  VI,  chap,  xxvi;  Q.  Curtius,  lib.  V:  Arrianus,  lib.  VII. 

2  The  mythology  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  inscriptions  will  be  briefly  treated 
in  the  following  chapter. 

3  This  devastation   was  accomplished   during   Sennacherib's  campaign 
of  694  to  692  B.  C. 

*The  city  of  Babylon  was  founded  in  very  early  times.  It  became  the 
capital  under  Khammuragas  (about  1700  B.  C.,  who  built  a  temple  to 
Merodach  there),  and  held  this  position  for  twelve  hundred  years.  It  was 
conquered  by  Tukulti-Ninip,  1271  B.  C. ;  by  Tiglath-Pileser  II,  731  B.  C. ; 
by  Merodach  Baladan,  722  B.  C.;  by  Sargon,  721  B.  C.  It  was  sacked  and 


THE   CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  37 

gained  her  title  of  "the  Glory  of  the  East"  until  the 
time  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was  engaged  through- 
out his  long  reign1  in  rebuilding  the  temples  and 
cities  of  his  kingdom. 

There  are  in  the  British  Museum  some  thirty  or 
forty  inscriptions  of  this  king,  which  record  the 
structure  of  great  buildings.  There  are  also  a  few 
fragments  pertaining  to  his  historical  career,  but  the 
account  thus  given  is  so  incomplete,  that  while  it 
agrees  with  the  Biblical  record  of  his  campaigns,  it 
is  far  less  definite  in  detail.  Nebuchadnezzar  III,  son 
of  Nabupolasser,  came  to  the  throne  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  seventh  century  B.  C.,  having  taken  command 
of  the  Babylonian  army  during  the  war  between  his 
father  and  Necho,  the  king  of  Egypt.  He  routed  the 
Egyptian  troops  at  Carchemish,  "and  took  all  that 
pertained  to  the  king  of  Egypt,  from  the  river  of 
Egypt  unto  the  river  Euphrates.2 

No  royal  penman  ever  took  greater  delight  in  record- 
ing his  achievements  than  did  Nebuchadnezzar  in 
describing  the  glories  of  his  capital  city :  "Is  not 
this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of 
the  kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the 
honor  of  my  majesty?"3  Upon  the  cylinders  found  at 
Senkereh  in  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  the  sun,  upon 
tablets  taken  from  the  ruins  of  Birs  Nimrud,*  which 

destroyed  by  Sennacherib,  692  B.C.:  restored  by  Esarhaddon,  675  B.  C.; 
captured  by  Assur-bani-pal,  648  B.  C. ;  rebuilt  in  great  splendor  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar during  his  long  reign,  and  taken  at  last  by  the  Medes  and 
Persians  about  539  B.  C.— Ernest  A.  Budge,  Tram.  Vic.  Ins.,  V.  18,  p.  147. 

i  Nebuchadnezzar  reigned  from  about  605  to  562  B.  C. 

22  Kings  xxiv,  7.  In  the  tablets  the  river  Euphrates  is  called  "the 
river  of  Sippara." 

SDaii.  iv,  30. 

4  Translated  by  Fox  Talbot,  P.  R.  S.,  Records  of  the  Past,  I,  69-73. 


38  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

still  rise  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  plain,  and  elsewhere,  we  find  the  boastful 
records  of  this  haughty  monarch,  and  in  one  instance 
a  single  inscription  consists  of  six  hundred  and  nine- 
teen lines.  Thus  writes  the  great  king: 

"  The  fanes  of  Babylon  I  built,  I  adorned.  Four 
thousand  cubits  complete,  the  walls  of  Babylon,  whose 
banner  is  invincible,  as  a  high  fortress  by  the  ford  of 
the  rising  sun,  I  carried  around  Babylon  its  fosse 
which  I  dug.  With  cement  and  brick  I  reared  up  a 
tall  tower  at  its  side  like  a  mountain.  I  built  the 
great  gates,  whose  walls  I  constructed  with  pine 
woods  and  covering  of  copper.  I  overlaid  them  to 
keep  off  enemies  from  the  front  of  the  wall  of  un- 
conquered  Babylon.  Those  large  gates  for  the  admi- 
ration of  multitudes  of  men,  with  wreathed  work  I 
filled — the  invincible  castle  of  Babylon,  which  no  king 
had  previously  effected,  the  city  of  Babylon  I  fitted 
to  be  a  treasure  city/'1  etc. 

These  few  lines  indicate  the  style  and  general  char- 
acter of  the  chronicles  found  upon  many  cylinders  and 
slabs.  During  his  reign  Jerusalem  was  besieged,  and 
captured2  after  a  siege  of  a  year  and  a  half.  King 
Zedekiah  fled  by  night  "  by  the  way  of  the  gate  be- 
tween the  two  walls  which  is  in  the  king's  garden," 
but  was  overtaken  in  the  plains  of  Jericho,  and  brought 
before  the  king  of  Babylon  at  Riblah,  where  his  sons 
were  slain  before  him  and  his  eyes  were  destroyed.  A 
few  years  later  Nebuchadnezzar  besieged  Tyre,  with 
doubtful  success.  He  had  left  Gedaliah  in  charge  of 
Judah,  but  the  new  ruler  was  slain  by  Ishmael,  the 

1  Translated  by  Fox  Talbot,  F.  R.  S.,  Records  of  the  Past,  1-133. 

2  Jerusalem  captured  587  B.  C.    See  also  Jer.  xxxix,  1,  2  ;  2  Kings  xxv. 


THE  CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  39 

son  of  Nethaniah.  Again  the  king  of  Babylon  came 
to  take  vengeance,  and  carried  the  Jews  away  to  Baby- 
lon. He  afterward  turned  his  attention  to  the  capture 
of  Egypt,  whose  king  had  incited  Palestine  to  rebellion. 
Nebuchadnezzar  defeated  and  deposed  him,  swept  over 
Egypt  and  installed  a  king  who  was  tributary  to  Baby- 
lon.1 After  this  he  devoted  himself  to  the  rebuilding 
of  his  city,  using  thousands  of  captives  as  laborers 
and  drawing  upon  all  his  provinces  for  his  supplies. 

All  the  writers  of  this  period  give  their  testimony 
to  the  glory  of  his  city,  his  palaces,  temples,  hanging 
gardens,  and  the  golden  images  of  his  gods.  He 
builded  the  shrines  of  multitudes  of  gods  at  Babylon, 
and  Jeremiah  alludes  to  this  fact  when  he  says  :  "  For 
it  is  a  land  of  graven  images,  and  they  confide  in 
their  idols.  "8  The  prophets  of  Israel  never  stayed  in 
their  denunciation  of  this  idolatrous  king,  even  though 
they  and  their  people  were  within  the  grasp  of  his 
mailed  hand. 

The  land  of  Palestine  has  been  called  "the  Pied- 
mont of  Western  Asia ;"  being  situated  midway  between 
the  two  great  empires  of  Egypt  and  Assyria,  it  became 
the  battle-field  of  the  Orient,  and  it  was  here  that  the 
fiercest  conflict  was  waged.  But  during  the  reign  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  Chaldean  supremacy  in  Asia  re- 
mained unshaken,  for  the  active  policy  of  that  iron- 
handed  ruler,  with  his  mighty  army  kept  all  Western 
Asia  under  his  control. 

THE   FALL   OF    BABYLON. 

There  are  several  tablets  pertaining  to  the  fall  of 
Babylon  which  throw  additional  light  upon  that  event. 

1572  B.C.  2Jer.  1,  38. 


40  .  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

It  appear^  from  these  chronicles  that  Belshazzar  reigned 
in  connection  with  his  father  Nabonidus,  Belshazzar 
being  the  grandson  of  Nebuchadnezzar  on  the  maternal 
side.  Under  the  date  of  the  ninth  year  of  Nabonidus,1 
the  record  says:  "Nabonidus,  the  king,  was  in  the  city 
of  Teva,  the  son  of  the  king  (Belshazzar),  the  chief- 
tains, and  the  soldiers  were  in  the  land  of  Accad 
(North  Babylonia).  .  .  .  The  king  until  the  month 
Nisan  (first  month)  to  Babylon  went  not,  Nebo  to 
Babylon  came  not,  Bel  went  not  forth.  ...  In  the 
month  Nisan,  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  his  army  gathered, 
and  below  Arbela  the  river  Tigris  he  crossed."  The 
chronicle  is  here  mutilated,  and  it  can  be  seen  only 
that  Cyrus,  marching  across  the  northern  part  of  the 
Euphratean  valley,  levied  tribute  upon  some  distant 
king.  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  campaigns  in 
the  war  against  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  and  the  rising 
power  of  the  now  united  Medes  and  Persians  was 
anxiously  watched  by  the  rulers  of  Babylonia.  Nabo- 
nidus  appears  from  the  record  to  have  been  a  weak 
ruler,  leaving  the  government  and  command  of  the 
army  largely  in  the  hands  of  his  son.  Says  Boscawen, 
the  eminent  Assyriologist:  "From  the  seventh  year2  of 
his  father's  reign  until  the  fall  of  the  empire,  Bel- 
shazzar appears  to  have  been  the  leading  spirit  and 
ruler  of  the  kingdom,  and  this  may  account,  in  some 
measure,  for  his  prominence  in  the  book  of  Daniel."3 
In  the  cylinder  inscription  of  Nabonidus,  found  in  the 
temple  of  the  Moon-god  at  Ur,  the  king  thus  prays 
for  his  son: 

1547  B.C.  2  549  B.C. 

3  W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen,  Trans.  Vic.  Ins.,  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  70,  p.  117. 


THE  CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  41 

1.  "As  for  me,  Nabonidus,  king  of  Babylon, 

2.  In  the  fullness  of  thy 

3.  Great  divinity,  (grant  me) 

4.  Length  of  life 

5.  To  remote  days. 

6.  And  for  Belshazzar, 

7.  My  first-born  son, 

8.  The  offspring  of  my  heart, 

9.  Reverence  for  thy  great  divinity 
10.  Establish  thou  in  his  heart."1 

Another  tablet,  by  a  contemporary  scribe,  gives  a 
brief  account  of  the  fall  of  Babylon,  which  throws  a 
most  important  light  upon  this  great  event,  enabling 
historians  to  fix  the  year,  month  and  day  of  the  cap- 
ture of  the  city,  and  as  proving  its  agreement  with 
the  statements  of  classical  writers,  and  the  author  of 
the  book  of  Daniel.  The  ancient  writers  all  agree, 
that  the  fall  of  Babylon  took  place  by  a  surprise,  the 
attack  being  made  on  the  night  of  a  great  festival. 
Herodotus  thus  describes  it:  "The  outer  part  of  the 
city  had  already  been  taken,  while  those  in  the  centre, 
who,  as  the  Babylonians  say,  knew  nothing  of  the 
matter,  owing  to  the  extent  of  the  city,  were  dancing 
and  making  merry,  for  it  so  happened  that  a  festival 
was  being  celebrated." 

Xenophon  claims  that  the  attack  was  made  "  when 
Cyrus  perceived  that  the  Babylonians  celebrated  a  fes- 
tival at  a  fixed  time,  at  which  they  feasted  for  the 
whole  night."  The  Hebrew  prophets,2  also,  were  not 
unaware  of  this  surprise  upon  the  "  Lady  of  King- 

i  \Vestern  Asia  Inscriptions,  Vol.  I,  pi.  68,  col.  lines  19. 
•i. Jeremiah  li,  39-57;  also  Daniel  v,  1. 


42  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

doms,"  and  among  the  inscriptions  taken  from  Bab- 
ylon is  a  large  tablet,  containing,  when  complete,  the 
calendar  of  the  year,  with  notes  appended  to  each 
day,  specifying  whether  it  was  lucky  or  unlucky, 
whether  it  was  a  fast  or  a  feast  day.  The  calendar  of 
the  month  Duza,  or  Tammuz,  the  month  in  which 
Babylon  was  taken,  is  fortunately  complete,  and  con- 
tains a  record  of  the  festivals  which  were  celebrated 
therein.  The  month  opens  with  a  festival  of  the 
Sun-god,  or  Tammuz,  as  the  summer  sun,  restored  in 
all  his  beauty  (after  his  death  in  winter)  to  his  bride, 
who  is  Ishtar,  the  moon.  This  festival  is  the  same  as 
that  of  Atys,  the  Phyrgian  Adonis,  which  is  celebrated 
at  the  same  time.  The  festivals  of  Tammuz  and  Ish- 
tar, his  wife,  extended  over  all  the  first  half  of  the 
month,  the  second  being  the  day  of  lamentation,  and 
the  sixth,  the  procession.  On  the  fifteenth  day  of 
the  month  they  celebrated  the  great  marriage  feast  of 
Tammuz  and  his  bride,  and  it  consisted  of  wild  orgies, 
such  as  can  only  be  found  in  the  lascivious  East.  It 
was  this  festival  which  Belshazzar  was  celebrating  on 
the  night  in  which  Babylon  was  taken,  and  it  was  prob- 
ably the  only  one  in  which  not  only  the  king,  but  also 
his  "wives  and  concubines,"  would  be  present.-  There 
may  have  been  an  air  of  desperation  imparted  to  the 
conduct  of  Belshazzar  by  the  knowledge  that,  by  the 
flight  of  his  father  and  defeat  of  his  army,  the  king- 
dom was  virtually  lost,  and  that  this  was  probably  his 
last  festival  as  a  Babylonian  ruler.  The  gold  and 
silver  vessels  which  were  brought  forth  at  this  reckless 
feast  had  been  captured  at  the  sacking  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem,  and  stored  in  the  temple  of  Bel  Mero- 


THE   CUNEIFORM    INSCRIPTIONS.  43 

dach,  and  were  brought  from  there  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  Belshazzar,  who  was  the  last  of  the  line 
of  Nimrod.  It  is  evident  from  the  tablets  and  other 
authorities  that  the  army  of  Cyrus,  commanded  by 
Gobyras,1  entered  the  city  "without  fighting"  on  the 
night  of  the  fifteenth  of  the  month  Tammuz,  and  the 
outposts  were  captured  while  the  revelers  were  uncon- 
scious of  the  near  approach  of  the  foe.  But  within 
the  walls  and  at  the  scene  of  festivity,  surrounding 
the  king,  there  was  not  only  the  tramp  of  armed  men, 
but  also  the  clash  of  swords  and  spears,  a  short  but 
decisive  combat,  and  Babylon,  "the  glory  of  king- 
doms," became  the  victor's  prize.2 

The  walls  of  the  Chaldean  palace  were  rich  with  gor- 
geous draperies  on  that  fatal  night.  The  golden  cups 
were  filled  with  costly  wines,  and  long  festoons  of  flowers 
were  hung  from  wall  and  ceiling ;  there  were  beautiful 
faces,  and  the  flashing  of  jewels,  with  music  and  mirth 
in  the  royal  hall,  but  that  festal  scene  was  the  back- 
ground of  the  death  of  an  empire.  "Babylon  the  Great" 
had  fallen  in  the  midst  of  her  splendor — had  fallen  with 
her  temples  and  palaces,  into  the  hand  of  the  Persian 
king. 

i  The  newly  acquired  evidence  of  the  tablets  seems  to  indicate  that  Goby- 
ras,  who  commanded  the  armies  of  Cyrus,  was  Darius  the  Median,  who  acted 
as  the  viceroy  of  Cyrus  on  the  throne  of  Babylon.  Gobyras,  the  Ugbaru  of 
the  inscriptions,  being  formerly  prefect  of  Gutium,  or  Kurdistan,  was  ruler 
of  a  district  which  embraced  Ecbatana,  the  Median  capital,  and  the  province 
of  the  Medes,  and  was  also,  as  his  name  indicates,  a  Proto-Mede,  or  Kassite, 
by  birth.  Xeuophon  states  that  the  capture  of  Babylon  was  effected  by 
Gobyras,  and  that  his  division  Was  the  first  to  reach  the  palace.  Cyrus  him- 
self did  not  enter  Babylon  until  later  in  the  year,  namely,  on  the  third  day 
of  Marchesvan,  four  months  after,  when  he  "proclaimed  peace,  to  all  Bab- 
ylon, and  Gobyras  his  governor,  and  governors,  he  appointed." 

2W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen,  Trans.  Vic.  Ins.,  Vol.  XVIII,  page  131. 


44  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

CYRUS — THE   ACH^MENIAN. 

The  numerous  inscriptions  of  Cyrus,  Darius,  Xerxes, 
and  the  three  Artaxerxes  found  at  Persepolis,  at  Mount 
Elvend,  at  Susa,  and  Suez,  are  the  most  important  of 
the  historical  inscriptions  of  Persian  kings,  except  that 
at  Behistun.  The  Persian  texts  have  been  repeatedly 
and  carefully  edited.  Following  the  preparatory  labors 
of  Grotofend,  Kask,  Beer  and  Jacquet,  the  documents 
have  been  carefully  examined  and  explained  by  MM. 
Burnouf,  Lassen,  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  Benfey,  Spiegel  and 
Dr.  Oppert. 

The  Median  versions  appeared  afterward,  coming 
from  the  competent  hands  of  MM.  Westergaard,  De 
Saulcy,  Holtzmann,  Norris  and  Mardtmann,  while  the 
Assyrian  translations  have  been  examined  by  scholars 
whose  work  is  equally  careful,  therefore,  no  doubt  can  be 
entertained  concerning  its  general  accuracy. 

The  supposed  tomb  of  Cyrus  merely  bears  in  three 
languages — Persian,  Median  and  Assyrian — the  simple 
statement  that  "  I  am  Cyrus,  the  King,  the  Achaeme- 
nian."  There  is,  however,  an  Assyrian  inscription  on  a 
Babylonian  brick  which  was  brought  over  to  England  by 
Loftus  and  translated  by  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  which 
declares  that  "Cyrus,  King  of  Babylon,  Priest  of  the 
Pyramid  and  of  the  Tower  (was)  son  of  Cambyses,  the 
Mighty  Prince. "  This  apparently  simple  legend  is  of 
great  historical  importance,  as  it  proves  that  Herodo- 
tus1 was  right  in  calling  Cyrus's  father  Cambyses,  a 
name  which  was  afterward  borne  also  by  the  successor 
of  Cyrus.  The  inscription  also  states,  in  harmony  with 

i  Herodotus,  I,  107,  128. 


THE    CUNEIFORM    INSCRIPTIONS.  45 

Herodotus,  that  the   former   Cambyses  was  not  a  king, 
but  merely  a  private  individual. 

BEHISTUN   INSCRIPTIONS. 

Not  only  is  the  soil  of  Persia  rich  in  historic 
lore,  but  even  the  cliffs  of  her  mountains  were  "  gra- 
ven with  an  iron  pen"  where  her  records  were  "laid 
in  the  rock  forever."  At  Behistun,  far  above  the 
plain,  is  found  an  imperishable  record  of  the  reign  of 
Darius  Hystaspes.1 

Major  Rawlinson  at  last  succeeded  in  scaling  the 
heights  and  making  casts  of  the  mystic  characters  to  be 
taken  away  and  translated.  The  great  inscription  is 
written  in  three  languages,  and  extends  to  nearly  a 
thousand  lines  of  cuneiform  writing.  It  is  at  least  four 
hundred  feet  above  the  plain,  and  this  intrepid  soldier, 
during  the  space  of  several  years,  made  the  perilous 
ascent  a  multitude  of  times,  always  bringing  away,  at 
the  peril  of  his  life,  some  portion  of  this  'great  historic 
record.  After  thirteen  years  of  persistent  effort  he 
succeeded  in  copying  the  whole  inscription,  and  placing 
it  in  such  a  form  that  other  scholars  could  assist  him  in 
the  translation  of  it.  The  casts  of  the  Sythic  version 
were  given  into  the  care  of  Mr.  E.  Norris,  the  well- 
known  Oriental  scholar,  who  published  from  them  an 
independent  translation  in  the  Journal  of  the  Eoyal 
Asiatic  Society.  The  Persian  text  was  translated  by 
Major  Rawlinson,  and  Dr.  Julius  Oppert  states  that 
he  devoted  twenty  years  of  his  own  life  to  the  Median 
version. 

In  the  subject-matter  of  this  long  inscription,  King 

i  Darius  Hystaspes  reigned  from  549  to  486  B.  C. 


46  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Darius  follows  the  custom  of  other  potentates,  and  re- 
cords only  his  triumphs,  though  he  boastingly  tells  of 
the  barbarities  he  practiced  upon  would-be  usurpers. 
The  record  opens  with  a  long  line  of  genealogies,  giving 
the  names  of  the  kings  who  reigned  before  him.  "And 
Darius  the  king  says,  on  that  account  we  called  ourselves 
Achsmenian  of  race ;  from  ancient  times  we  have  been 
mighty,  from  ancient  times  we  have  been  kings/'1 

The  royal  historian  then  recites  the  countries  over 
which  he  reigned,  including  Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia, 
Arabia,  and  Egypt,  besides  minor  provinces,  twenty- 
three  in  all,  and  he  says,  "  These  are  the  provinces  that 
called  themselves  mine ;  they  brought  tribute  to  me, 
what  was  ordered  by  me  unto  them,  in  the  night  time 
as  well  as  in  the  day  time,  that  they  executed."2 

The  history  is  then  given  of  various  pretenders  who 
led  revolts  against  him.  The  whole  account  of  these 
rebellions  occupies  many  lines  of  cuneiform  writing, 
but  victory  was  always  gained  by  the  crown,  and  the 
usurpers  were  put  to  death  in  the  most  barbarous 
manner.  Their  noses  and  ears  and  tongues  were  cut 
off,  their  eyes  were  put  out,  and  in  this  pitiable  con- 
dition they  were  chained  to  the  palace  where  "all 
the  people  saw"  them,  and  afterward  they  were  car- 
ried away  and  placed  upon  crosses.  The  penalty  in- 
flicted upon  each  one  is  given  in  detail,  but  there  is 
a  great  uniformity  in  the  accounts,  although  the  pun- 
ishment was  sometimes  varied  by  hanging  the  leader  of 

i  Column  I,  line  3.  Achsemenes  was  the  last  king  independent  of  Persia, 
and  therefore  the  kings  after  Cyrus  declared  that  they  were  his  descendants. 
It  is  supposed  that  he  was  superseded  by  Phraortes,  the  Median  king  (657- 
635)  as  it  was  he  who  first  subdued  the  Persians.  Phraortes  was  the  great 
grandfather  of  Cyrus,  who  was  born  599  B  C 

2 Col.  I,  line?. 


THE   CUNEIFORM    INSCRIPTIONS.  47 

the  revolt,  together  with  his  principal  followers.  Of- 
ten a  decree  of  extermination  was  issued  against  all 
the  people  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  The  great  inscrip- 
tion is  finished  with  a  pictorial  representation  of  the 
nine  kings  which  Darius  took  in  battle,  one  of  whom 
claimed  to  be  Bardes,  the  son  of  Cyrus.  Another 
claimed  to  be  the  king  of  Susiana;1  another  led  the 
revolt  of  the  Babylonians ;  the  fourth  caused  the  rebel- 
lion of  the  Medians ;  the  fifth,  like  the  second,  pro- 
claimed himself  the  king  of  Susiana,  while  the  sixth 
led  the  Sagartians  in  an  attack  upon  their  king. 
"  The  seventh  was  a  Persian  who  lied  and  said,  '  I 
am  Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  and  he  caused  the  revolt 
of  Persia."'2  The  eighth  proclaimed  himself  king  of 
Babylon,  and  the  ninth  claimed  to  exercise  kingly 
power  over  the  Margians.  The  first  of  these  is  rep- 
resented by  a  prostrate  figure,  upon  which  the  victo- 
rious king  is  trampling,  the  others  are  standing  in  the 
position  of  captives,  and  are  branded  as  impostors  by 
the  inscriptions  beneath  them.  The  king  also  recorded 
the  names  of  the  warriors  who  assisted  him  in  his 
campaigns,  and  requested  those  who  might  succeed 
him  upon  the  Persian  throne,  to  "remember  to  show 
favor  to  the  descendants  of  these  men/' 

DARIUS    AT    PERSEPOLIS. 

Afar  in  the  mountains  of  Persia  stand  the  ruins  of 
the  capital  city  of  her  ancient  kings.  Porch  and  tem- 
ple, hall  and  palace,  lie  together  amidst  the  desolation 
wrought  by  the  ages.  The  long  stairway  still  leads  to 

i  The  name  of  this  province  appears  to  be  derived  from  Susun.  signifying 
a  "lily." 

a  Col.  Ill,  line  41. 


48  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

the  great  plateau,  while  the  gray  marble  pillars  stand 
like  sentinels  above  the  ruins  at  their  feet,  and  the 
moonlight  gleams  upon  sepulchres  of  Persian  monarchs. 
But  even  here,  on  panel  and  column,  we  find  symbols 
graven  by  a  forgotten  hand  —  the  desert  voice  of  the 
past,  still  boasting  of  the  grandeur  of  her  fallen  kings. 

An  inscription  on  the  door  of  a  ruined  palace, 
written  in  Persian,  Median,  and  Assyrian,  recounts  the 
greatness  of  "Darius  the  great  king, — the  king  of 
kings, — the  king  of  the  lands, — the  son  of  Hystaspes, 
the  Achsemenian  (who)  has  built  the  palace."  The 
"lands  which  are  numerous"  over  which  he  holds 
sway  are  declared  to  be  "Susiana,  Media,  Babylon, 
Arabia,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Armenia,  Cappadocia,  Lycia, 
the  lonians,  those  of  the  continent  and  those  of  the 
sea,  and  the  Eastern  lands,  Sagartia,  Parthia,  Saran- 
gia,  Aria,  Bactria,  Sogdiana,  Chorasmia,  Sattagydia, 
Arachotis,  India,  Gandaria,  the  Maxyans,  Karka  (Car- 
thage), Sacians,  and  the  Maka.1 

Darius  the  king  says  "If  thou  say  it  may  be  so  I 
shall  not  fear  the  other  Ahriman.2  Protect  the  Per- 
sian people.  If  the  Persian  people  are  protected  by 
thee,  Ormazd,  the  Good  Principle,  which  has  always 
destroyed  the  demon,  will  descend  as  ruler  on  this 
house.  The  great  Ormazd,  who  is  the  greatest  among 
all  the  gods,  is  he  who  created  the  heaven,  and  created 

iThis  list  of  nations  and  provinces  found  at  Persepolis  is  of  great 
importance.  It  was  executed  after  the  first  expedition  of  Darius  to  the 
Greek  nations  496,  B.  C.,  or  still  later,  and  many  Hellenic  nations  are 
enumerated  as  being  subdued  to  the  Persian  power. 

2  If  Dr.  Oppert's  version  is  correct  this  text  gives  us  the  first  mention 
of  the  name  of  Ahriman  to  be  found  in  the  inscriptions,  although  the 
warring  of  the  evil  elements  against  the  good  is  introduced  in  a  Chal- 
dean legend  of  the  creation,  which  will  be  noticed  in  the  following 


THE   CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  49 

the  earth,  who  created  the  men  and  the  Good  Prin- 
ciple, and  who  made  Darius  king,  and  gave  to  Darius 
the  king,  the  royalty  over  this  wide  earth,  which  con- 
tains many  lands ;  Persia  and  Media,  and  other  lands 
and  other  tongues,  on  the  mountains,  and  in  the 
plains,  of  this  side  of  the  sea,  and  on  the  side  be- 
yond the  sea ;  of  this  side  of  the  desert,  and  on  the 
side  beyond  the  desert."  The  inscriptions  of  Darius 
at  Mount  Elvend,  at  Susa,  and  at  Suez,  are  merely 
repetitions  of  the  greatness  of  Darius  and  of  Ormazd. 

INSCRIPTIONS  OF  XERXES. 

These  are  engraved  upon  the  staircase  and  columns 
at  Persepolis,  and  like  the  texts  of  Darius,  they  are 
employed  chiefly  to  represent  the  greatness  of  the  king, 
and  the  greatness  of  Ormazd.  Says  Dr.  Oppert,  "The 
texts  of  Xerxes  are  very  uniform,  and  not  very  im- 
portant. The  real  resulting  fact  is  the  name  of  the 
king,  Khsayarsa,  which  proves  to  be  identical  with 
Ahasuerus"1  of  the  Book  of  Esther.  There  are  also 
legends  on  vases  which  were  found  in  Egypt,  at  Susa 
and  Halicarnassus.  The  vase  found  at  Halicarnassus  is 
now  in  the  gold  room  of  the  British  Museum,  bearing 
the  inscription  of  "Xerxes  the  great  king." 

ARTAXERXES. 

The  texts  of  this  monarch,  which  are  written  in 
Persian,  Median  and  Assyrian,  are  found  on  the  bases 
of  columns  at  Susa,  and  also  at  Persepolis,  as  well  as 
upon  vases.  They  comprise  the  records  of  three 
kings — Artaxerxes  I,  II  and  III. 

i  Commentaire  sur  le  livre  d'Esther,  p.  4. 


50  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  excavations  of  Loftus  at 
Susa  for  the  records  of  Artaxerxes  II;  these  are  far 
more  important  than  the  inscriptions  of  his  prede- 
cessor, which  merely  illustrate  the  egotism  of  their 
author.  The  text  which  is  borne  upon  these  col- 
umns brings  down  to  us  a  new  historical  statement, 
to  the  effect  that  the  palace  at  Susa  was  burned 
under  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  I,  and  restored  by  his 
grandson.  During  this  period  the  Persian  monarchs 
resided  principally  at  Babylon,  and  Darius  II  died 
there. 

The  great  importance  of  these  texts  arises  from  the 
fact  that  they  give  the  genealogy  of  the  Achaemenidae, 
and  confirm  the  statements  transmitted  to  us  on  this 
subject  by  the  Greeks,  which  are  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  traditions  of  the  modern  Persians.  The  text  of 
Artaxerxes  III  contains  the  genealogy  of  that  king  up- 
ward to  the  names  of  Hystaspes  and  Arsames,  who 
were  the  father  and  grandfather  of  Darius  Hystaspes 
of  the  Achaemenian  line. 

A   LATER    PERSIAN   TABLET. 

A  much  later  tablet  is  merely  a  note  of  hand  given 
by  a  Persian  king  (Pacorus  II),  with  a  promise  to  pay 
"in  the  month  of  lyar  (April)  in  the  Temple  of  the 
sun  in  Babylon/'  and  it  also  bears  the  names  of  four 
witnesses.  This  little  clay  tablet  was  discovered  by 
Dr.  Oppert  in  the  Museum  of  the  Society  of  Antiqua- 
rians at  Zurich,  and  has  been  carefully  translated  by 
him.  It  is  interesting  mostly  from  the  fact  of  its 
comparatively  modern  origin,  King  Pacorus  II  having 
been  contemporary  with  the  Emperor  Titus  and  Dom- 


THE   CUNEIFORM   INSCRIPTIONS.  51 

itian.  Some  of  the  names  mentioned  upon  it  are 
Babylonish,  and  some  of  them  Persian.  All  the  wit- 
nesses, however,  bear  Persian  names  which  may  even 
be  called  modern.  King  Pacorus  II  commenced  his 
reign  A.  D.  77,  and  hence  this  is  the  only  tablet,  so 
far  as  known,  which  belongs  to  the  Christian  era. 

RESUME. 

These  sculptured  temples  and  graven  stones  have 
lain  in  the  path  of  the  ages  with  silent  lips,  but  the 
questioning  hand  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  broken 
the  spell  and  wrested  the  story  of  the  past  even  from 
the  "heaps"  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon.  From  moun- 
tain cliff,  from  palace  wall,  from  corner-stone  and 
fallen  pillar  comes  the  same  historic  voice  that  speaks 
to  us  from  the  forgotten  libraries  of  buried  kings. 

The  literature  of  the  tablets  comes  into  our  own 
age,  leading  a  splendid  retinue  of  historic  figures — 
Sargon,  the  early  king  of  Accad,  with  his  imperish- 
able library,  with  the  monuments  and  tablets  of 
Assyria,  then  Nineveh,  "that  great  city,"  with  her 
temples  and  palaces,  where  the  gilded  tiles  of  many  a 
a  dome  flashed  back  the  glory  of  the  setting  sun — 
Babylon,  "  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,"  and  "  the 
beauty  of  the  Chaldee's  excellency,"  who  for  centuries 
held  her  position  as  the  queen  of  the  world's  com- 
merce, and  through  whose  hands  the  wealth  of  the 
Euphrates  flowed  down  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  Bab- 
ylon, with  her  maze  of  life  and  color,  with  her  silver 
vases  and  golden  vessels,  with  her  princely  halls  and 
gorgeous  hangings,  with  the  breath  of  the  myrtle  and 
the  bay,  borne  upward  from  her  terraced  gardens  and 
moonlight  meads. 


52  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Then  the  scene  changes,  and  the  kingly  Cyrus  is 
riding  at  the  head  of  his  Medo- Persian  cohorts,-' and 
the  crown  of  the  Orient  is  within  liis  grasp.  "Bel 
boweth  down — Nebo  stoopeth,"  and  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment is  removed,  and  "the  daughter  of  the  Chal- 
deans" sits  in  the  dust  beneath  the  foot  of  the  in- 
vader. 

Later  still,  Darius  the  Great  is  enthroned  on  Per- 
sian soil ;  haughtily  he  wears  the  imperial  purple,  and 
the  crown  of  many  kingdoms,  while  upon  the  face  of 
Persia's  mountains,  he  writes  himself  "The  king  of 
kings."  But  a  reckless  policy  led  the  Persian  host  to 
a  sure  defeat  upon  the  plains  of  Marathon,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  humiliation  of  Xerxes,  and  the 
later  triumphs  of  Alexander.  Then  the  sons  of  the 
desert  poured  like  a  mountain  torrent  over  the  plains 
of  Iran,  and  the  star  and  crescent  flashed  everywhere 
from  banners  on  Persian  soil,  while  to-day  the  Arab 
pitches  his  tent  amidst  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities, 
and  only  the  spade  of  the  explorer  reveals  their  buried 
treasures. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  POETRY  AND  MYTHOLOGY  OP  THE  TABLETS. 

PRIMITIVE  MYTHOLOGY — ANU — SEVEN  EVIL  SPIRITS — 
ACCADIAN  POEM  — ASSUR  —  HEA —  NIN-CI-GAL — SIN", 
THE  MOON  GOD — HEA-BANI — NERGAL — MERODACH — 
NEBO — NINIP —  CHEMOSH  —  INCANTATIONS  TO  FIRE 
AND  WATER— IM — BAAL— TAMMUZ— ISHTAR — ISHTAR 
OF  ARBELA— ISHTAR  OF  ERECH — LEGEND  OF  ISHTAR 
AND  IZDUBAR — ISHTAR,  QUEEN  OF  LOVE  AND  BEAUTY 
— THE  DESCENT  OF  ISHTAR. 

rriHE  East  was  the  home  of  poetry  and  the  land  of 
-*-  mythology  before  the  hundred  gates  of  Palmyra 
were  swung  upon  their  massive  hinges,  or  the  crown  of 
her  beautiful  queen  had  been  set  with  its  moonlight 
pearls.  A  land  which  was  rich  with  jewels  and 
radiant  with  flowers,  held  in  her  background  a  mythol- 
ogy so  primitive  that  it  appeirs  to  have  been  the 
mother  of  them  all.  Tablet  and  palace  walls  have 
alike  been  questioned  concerning  these  early  myths, 
and  behind  the  dust  of  the  centuries,  in  the  legends 
that  lie  beneath  them,  we  find  stories  of  gods  like 
Indra,  the  storm-king  of  the  Hindus,  and  Jove  of 
Olympus  —  like  Odin  and  Thor  of  the  Northmen. 
Even  the  gigantic  symbols  that  guarded  the  portals  of 
ancient  hall  and  palace  are  replete  with  wonder,  for 
their  strange  wings  have  sheltered  the  very  beginnings 


54  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

of  mythology.  Chaldea's  cosmogonies  comprehend  the 
ideas  of  the  Greek  and  Norseman — nay,  even  the 
wildest  dreams  of  Hindu  and  Persian  are  apparently 
drawn  from  this  common  source.1 

The  intelligent  study  of  Persian  literature  compels 
an  examination  of  the  early  myths  and  legends  where 
her  poetry  and  romance  found  their  sources — compels 
the  study  not  only  of  the  inscriptions  of  Persian 
kings,  but  of  the  tablets  which  have  brought  down 
to  us  the  idols  of  a  primitive  people.  Therefore,  it  is 
the  province  of  this  chapter  to  give  a  brief  yet  com- 
prehensive outline  of  the  principal  deities  and  legends 
which  seem  to  form  the  basis  not  only  of  Persian 
mythology,  but  of  the  luxuriant  growth  of  myth  and 
fable  which  has  permeated  India,  Greece,  and  Rome, 
as  well  as  Northern  Europe. 

A  Chaldean  legend  of  the  creation  is  found  upon  a 
clay  tablet  which  contains  a  description  of  the  struggle 
between  the  evil  powers  of  darkness  and  chaos,  and 
the  bright  powers  of  light  and  order.  This  is  doubt- 
less the  origin  of  the  struggle  between  good  and  evil 
— the  unceasing  contest  between  Ormazd  and  Ahriman 
which  forms  the  key-note  of  Persian  thought  so  fully 
illustrated  in  the  Avesta. 

There  are  two  contradictory  tablets  of  the  creation. 
The  one  coming  from  the  library  at  Cutha  and  the 
other  from  the  royal  library  at  Nineveh.  This  latter 
consists  of  seven  tablets,  as  the  creation-  is  described 

i  The  Chaldean  mythology  represented  by  the  worship  of  Baal  and  Ash- 
taroth  appears  to  have  been  an  organized  system  demanding  the  erection  of 
a  temple  to  Merodach,  as  early  as  the  seventeenth  century  B.  C.,  while  the 
earliest  songs  of  the  Vedas  are  ascribed  to  the  period  between  1500  to  1000 
B.  C.  and  the  greater  portion  of  Hindu  mythology  appears  only  in  much  later 
works. 


THE    POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      55 

as  consisting  of  seven  successive  acts.  It  presents  a 
curious  similarity  to  the  account  of  the  creation  long 
before  recorded  in  Genesis,  the  word  Tlamat  which  is 
used  to  represent  chaos  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the 
biblical  word  tekom,  the  deep.  A  radical  difference, 
however,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  the  Assyrian 
story,  Tlamat  has  become  a  mythological  personage — 
the  dragon  mother  of  a  chaotic  brood.  The  legend 
in  its  present  form  is  assigned  by  Prof.  Sayce  to 
about  the  time  of  Assur-bani-pal.1  The  oldest  tab- 
lets are  those  which  are  written  in  the  primitive 
Accadian  tongue,  and  many  of  these  have  been  found 
in  the  library  of  Assur-bani-pal,2  having  evidently  been 
copied  from  the  earlier  text  and  supplied  with  inter- 
linear translations  in  the  Assyrian  tongue. 

The  Assyrians  counted  no  less  than  three  hundred 
spirits  of  heaven  and  six  hundred  spirits  of  earth, 
all  of  which  (as  well  as  the  rest  of  their  mythology) 
appears  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  primitive 
population  of  that  country.  Indeed  it  would  appear 
that  ancient  Babylonia  was  the  birthplace  of  that 
common  mythology3  which  in  various  forms  afterward 
became  the  heritage  of  so  many  nations. 

Elaborate  and  costly  temples  were  built  for  these 
deities  of  an  idolatrous  people,  and  when  the  image 
of  a  god  was  brought  into  his  newly  built  temple 
there  were  festivals  and  processions,  and  wild  rejoic- 
ing among  the  worshippers. 

The  principal  gods  mentioned  in  these  early  tablets 
may  be  briefly  sketched  as  follows  : 

1  Sayce,  Rec.  of  P.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  123-130 

2  Assur-bani-pal,  king  of  Assyria,  who  reigned  from  668  to  625  B.  C. 

3  Hindu  Literature,  Chaps,  ii  and  iii. 


56  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

ANU. 

The  sky  god  and  ruler  of  the  highest  heaven, 
whose  messengers  are  evil  spirits.  The  Canaanite 
town  of  Beth-anath,  mentioned  in  Joshua,1  was  named 
for  Anat,  the  wife  of  Anu. 

SEVEN   EVIL   SPIRITS. 

These  messengers  of  Anu  are  elsewhere  described 
as  the  seven  storm-clouds,  or  the  winds,  and  their 
leader  seems  to  have  been  the  dragon  Tiamat2  (the 
deep),  who  was  defeated  by  Bel-Merodach  in  the  war 
of  the  gods.  The  tablets  have  preserved  an  Accadian 
poem  on  this  subject,  the  author  of  which  is  repre- 
sented as  living  in  the  Babylonian  city  of  Eridu,3 
where  his  horizon  was  bounded  by  the  mountains  of 
Susiani,  and  the  battle  of  the  elements  raging  around 
their  summit  suggested  to  his  poet-mind  the  warring 
of  evil  spirits. 

It  was  these  seven  storm-spirits  who  were  represented 
as  attacking  the  moon  when  it  was  eclipsed,  a  descrip- 
tion of  which  is  given  in  an  Accadian  poem4  translated 
by  Prof.  Talbot.  Here  they  are  regarded  as  the  allies 
of  the  incubus,  or  nightmare,  which  is  supposed  to 
attack  the  moon. 

ACCADIAN   POEM   ON  THE  SEVEN   EVIL  SPIRITS. 

"0,  Fire-god!    those  seven,  how  were  they  born?  how 
grew  they  up? 

1  Joshua  xix,  33. 

2  There  is  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  now  in  the  British  Museum  which  repre- 
sents Tiamat  with  horns  and  claws,  tail  and  wings. 

s  Eridu— the  Rata  of  Ptolemy,  was  near  the  junction  of  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris,  on  the  Arabian  side  of  the  river.  It  was  one  of  the  oldest  cities 
of  Chaldea. 

*Cun.  Ins.  West  Asia,  Vol.  IV,  plate  15.    Records  of  the  Past. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF   THE   TABLETS.      57 

Those  seven  in  the  mountain  of  the  sunset  were  born. 

Those  seven  in  the  mountain  of  the  sunrise  grew  up. 

In  the  hollows  of  the  earth  have  they  their  dwelling ; 

On  the  high  places  of  the  earth  are  they  proclaimed. 

Among  the  gods  their  couch  they  have  not; 

Their  name  in  heaven  and  earth  exists  not. 

Seven  are  they;    in  the  mountain    of    the    sunset  do 

they  rise ; 
Seven  are  they;    in  the  mountain    of    the  sunrise  do 

they  set. 

Let  the  Fire-god  seize  upon  the  incubus ; 
Those  baleful  seven  may  he  remove,  and  their  bodies 

may  he  bind. 

Order  and  kindness  know  they  not, 
Prayer  and  supplication  hear  they  not. 
Unto  Hea  they  are  hostile ; 
Disturbing  the  lily  in  the  torrents  are  they. 
Baleful  are  they,  baleful  are  they, 
Seven  are  they,  seven  are  they." 

"They  are  the  dark  storms  of" heaven  which  unto  fire 

unite  themselves  ; 
They  are    the    destructive    tempests  which,   on  a  fine 

day,  sudden  darkness  cause ; 
With  storms  and  meteors  they  rush, 
Their  rage  ignites  the  thunderbolts  of  Im, 
From  the  right  hand  of  the  thunder  they  dart  forth. 
They  are  seven,  these  evil  spi'rits,  and  death  they  fear 

not ; 
They   are    seven,    these   evil   spirits,    who   rush   like   a 

hurricane, 
And  fall  like  fire-brands  on  the  earth."1 

i  This  is  one  of  the  numerous  bi-lingual  texts,  written  in  the  original 


58  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Here  we  have  more  than  a  suggestion  of  the  origin 
of  some  of  the  early  songs  of  the  Vedas,  for  these 
seven  storm-spirits  are  represented  by  the  Maruts  of 
the  Hindus— "the  shakers  of  the  earth " — who  dash 
through  the  heavens  in  chariots  drawn  by  dappled  deer. 
In  this  primitive  mythology  we  find  also 

ASSUR. 

The  "god  of  judges"  was  the  especial  patron  of 
Assyria,  and  afterward  made  to  express  the  power  of 
the  later  Assyrian  empire  by  becoming  "father  of 
the  gods"  and  the  head  of  the  pantheon. 

The  Assyrian  kings  claimed  that  their  power  was 
derived  from  this  deity,  and  in  one  of  the  inscriptions 
it  is  said  that 

"The  universal  king,1  king  of  Assyria,  the  king  whom 

Assur, 

King  of  the  spirits  of  heaven,  appointed  with  a  king- 
dom, 

Without  rival  has  filled  his  hand. 
From  the  great  sea  of  the  rising  of  the  sun 
To  the  great  sea  of  the  setting  of  the  sun 
His  hand  conquered  and   has  subdued  in  all  entirety." 

In  the  inscriptions  of  Shalmanesar  II,  all  honor  is 
also  ascribed  to  this  god ;  he  is  invoked  as  * '  Assur, 
the  great  lord,  the  king  of  all  the  great  gods." 

And  it  is  said :    "  By  the  command  of  Assur,  the  great 

lord,  my  lord, 
I  approached  the  mountain  of  Shitamrat — 

Accadian,  with   an   interlinear   Assyrian    translation,    which    have    been 
brought  from  the  library  of  Assur-bani-pal  at  Nineveh, 
i  Rimmon-Nirari  III.  Records  of  Past,  Vol.  IV,  p.  88. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      59 

The  mountain  I  stormed. 

Akhuni  trusted  to  the  multitude  of  his  troops  and  came 
forth  to  meet  me ; 

He  drew  up  in  battle  array. 

I  launched  among  them  the  weapons  of  Assur,  my  lord; 

I  utterly  defeated  them. 

I  cut  off  the  heads  of  his  soldiers  and  dyed  the  moun- 
tains with  the  blood  of  his  fighting  men. 

Many  of  his  troops  flung  themselves  against  the  rocks 
of  the  mountains."1 

On  his  return,  the  victorious  king  purified  his 
weapons  in  the  sea,  and  sacrificed  victims  to  his  gods. 
He  erected  a  statue  of  himself,  overlooking  the  sea, 
and  inscribed  it  with  the  glory  of  Assur. 

HEA. 

Hea2  was  the  god  of  choas  or  the  deep;  he  was 
"the  king  of  the  abyss  who  determines  destinies." 

In  later  times  he  was  also  called  "the  god  of  the 
waters,"  and  from  him  some  of  the  attributes  of  Nep- 
tune may  have  been  derived.  It  was  said  that  Chaos 
was  his  wife. 

1  Ins.  of  Shalmanesar  II.    Records  of  P.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  66. 

2  it  is  thought  that  the  worship  of  Hea  or  Ea  may  have  been  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  as  Ea  is  auother  form  of 
El,  and  the  early  followers  of  Ea  were  evidently  mouotheists. 

Mr.  Hormuzd  Rassam,  the  eminent  archaeologist,  who  is  a  native  of 
Assyria,  claims  that  the  early  Assyrians  worshipped  the  true  God,  but 
under  peculiar  names  and  attributes,  and  that  instead  of  practicing  the 
revolting  sacrifices  which  were  made  by  other  gentile  nations  "they 
imitated  the  sacrifices  of  the  Jewish  rites."  He  bases  his  proof  largely 
upon  his  discovery  of  the  bronze  gate  of  Shalmanesar  II,  with  its  sculp- 
tured presentation  of  the  sacrifice  of  rams  and  bullocks,  and  he  says 
that  "  the  same  king,  Shalmauesar,  took  tribute  from  Jehu,  king  of 
Israel,  as  an  act  of  homage." 

Trans.  Vic.  Ins.,  Vol.  XIII,  pp.  190  and  214,  also  Vol.  XXV,  pp.  121. 


60  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

NIN-CI-GAL. 

In  later  mythology  Nin-ci-gal,  instead  of  Chaos,  was 
the  wife  of  Hea— she  was  the  "lady  of  the  mighty 
country"  and  "queen  of  the  dead."  This  goddess 
may  have  been  the  prototype  of  Proserpine,  who  was 
carried  away  by  Pluto  in  his  golden  chariot  to  be  the 
"  queen  of  hades." 

SIN. 

This  name  signifies  brightness,  and  the  moon-god 
was  the  father  of  Ishtar.  Nannaru,  "the  brilliant 
one,"  was  one  of  his  titles. 

A  golden  tablet1  found  in  the  "timmin,"  or  corner- 
stone of  a  palace  or  temple  at  Khorsabed,  contains  an 
account  of  the  splendid  temples  which  King  Sargon 
II  built  in  a  town  near  Nineveh  (Dur  Sarkiu)  and 
dedicated  to  Hea,  Sin  (the  moon-god),  Chemosh  (the 
sun-god),  and  Ninip,  the  god  of  forces.  The  king's 
inscription2  states  that  "I  constructed  palaces  covered 
with  skins,  sandal  wood,  ebony,  cedar,  tamarisk,  pine, 
cypress,  and  wood  of  pistachio  tree."  Among  the  gods 
presented  on  the  tablets  we  find  also 

HEA-BANI. 

This  god  was  the  companion  of  Izdubar,  and  on 
account  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  attending  his 
death  was  shut  out  of  heaven.  He  is  represented  as 
a  satyr,  with  the  legs,  head,  and  tail  of  an  ox.  This 

1  This  tablet  is  almost  three  inches  long  and  two  inches  wide.    It  weighs 
about  three  drams  (Troy).     The  inscription  was  translated  by  Dr.  Oppert. 

2  These  inscriptions  contain  an  account  of  a  lunar  eclipse  mentioned 
by  Ptolemy,  which  took  place  March  19th,  721   B.  C.      Sargon  II  probably 
ascended  the  throne  about  the  year  722  B.  C. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      61 

figure  occurs  very  frequently  on  the  gems,  and  may 
always  be  recognized  by  these  characteristics.  He  is 
doubtless  the  original  of  Mendes,  the  goat-formed  god 
of  Egypt,  and  also  of  Pan,  the  goat-footed  god  of  the 
Arcadian  herdsman  with  his  pipe  of  seven  reeds.  Hea- 
baui  is  represented  as  dwelling  in  a  remote  place  three 
days'  journey  from  Erech,  and  it  was  said  that  he 
lived  in  a  cave  and  associated  with  the  cattle  and  the 
creeping  things  of  the  field. 

NERGAL, 

the  patron  deity  of  Cutha,  is  identified  with  Nerra, 
the  god  of  pestilence,  and  also  with  Ner,  the  mythical 
monarch  of  Babylonia,  who  it  was  claimed  reigned  be- 
fore the  flood.  He  was  "the  god  of  bows  and  arms." 
The  cuneiform  inscriptions  show  that  the  Lion-god, 
under  the  name  of  Nergal1  was  worshipped  at  Kuti  or 
Cutha,  where  an  elaborate  temple  was  built  in  his 
honor,  and  an  Assyrian  copy  of  an  old  Babylonian 
text  belonging  to  the  library  of  Cutha,  speaks  of  "  the 
memorial  stone  which  I  wrote  for  thee,  for  the  wor- 
ship of  Nergal  which  I  left  for  thee."  According 
to  Dr.  Oppert,  Nergal  represented  the  planet  Mars, 
hence  the  Grecian  god  of  war,  "  raging  round  the 
field,"  appears  to  have  been  merely  a  perpetuation  of 
this  early  deity. 

BEL    MERODACH, 

or  Marduk,  whose  temple,  according  to  the  inscrip- 
tion, was  built  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  with  its  costly 
woods,  "  its  silver  and  molten  gold,  and  precious 

'The  fact  that  the  "  men  of  Cuth  "  worshipped  Nergal  is  confirmed  by 
2  Kings  xvii,  30. 


62  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

stones"  and  " sea-clay"  (amber),  "with  its  seats  of 
splendid  gold,  with  lapis-lazuli  and  alabaster  blocks," 
which  are  still  found  in  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  And 
the  king  made  the  great  festival  Lilmuku,  when  the 
image  of  Merodach1  was  brought  into  the  temple.1 
The  inscription  also  speaks3  of  the  temple  as  receiving 
"  within  itself  the  abundant  tribute  of  the  kings  of 
nations,  and  of  all  peoples."4 

NEBO. 

From  this  god  the  name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
derived,  and  he  was  the  favorite  deity  of  that  king. 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Merodach,  and  was  "the  be- 
stower  of  thrones  in  heaven  and  earth."  In  a  ten- 
column  inscription  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  which  is  en- 
graved upon  black  basalt,  and  now  forms  part  of  the 
India  House  Collection,  the  king  speaks  of  building 
a  temple  in  Babylon  "  to  Nebo  of  lofty  intelligence, 
who  hath  bestowed  on  me  the  scepter  of  justice  to 
preside  over  all  peoples."  He  says,  "  The  pine  portico 
of  the  shrine  of  Nebo,  with  gold  I  caused  to  cover,"5 
etc.  Nebo6  or  Nabo  and  Merodach  are  both  used  as 
the  component  parts  of  the  names  of  certain  kings 
of  Babylon. 

1  An  allusion  to  the  destruction  of  the  image   of  Merodach  is    found 
in  Jeremiah:  -'Babylon  is  taken,  Bel  is  confounded,  Merodach  is  broken 
in  pieces.    Her  idols  are  confounded,  her  images  are  broken  in  pieces." 
(Jeremiah  1,  2.) 

2  4th  Col.,  lines  1-6.  3  Col.  10. 

*  This  portion  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  inscription  is  confirmed  by  the 
following  statement  in  the  book  of  Daniel:  "And  the  Lord  gave  the 
King  of  Judah  into  his  (Nebuchadnezzar's)  hand  with  part  of  the  vessels 
of  the  house  of  God,  which  he  carried  into  the  land  of  Shinar  to  the 
house  of  his  god."  (Daniel  i,  2.) 

5  Col.  3.  lines  43-45. 

6  Nebo  is  alluded  to  as  one  of  the  heathen  gods  in  Isaiah  xlvi,  1,  and 
kindred  passages. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      63 
NINIP, 

"the  son  of  the  zenith/'  and  "the  lord  of  strong 
actions,"  finds  an  echo  in  Grecian  mythology  as  Her- 
cules, who  received  his  sword  from  Mercury,  his  bow 
from  Apollo,  his  golden  breastplate  from  Vulcan,  his 
horses  from  Neptune,  and  his  robe  from  Minerva,  the 
goddess  of  wisdom. 

Hercules,  who  appears  in  Persian  mythology  as 
Mithras,  the  unconquered  sun,  is  traced  back  to  his 
Phoenician  origin  in  the  line  of  Baal.  Therefore,  the 
Persian  Mithras  represents  Chemosh  and  Tammuz, 
both  of  whom  are  sun-gods  as  well  as  the  "  god  of 
forces,"  for  the  sun  is  the  most  powerful  influence  in 
the  planetary  world.  The  mysteries  of  Mithras  were 
celebrated  with  much  pomp  and  splendor  on  the  re- 
vival of  the  Persian  religion  under  the  Sassanidae. 
The  word  appears  in  many  ancient  Persian  names. 

DAGOtf. 

The  Assyrian  Dagon  was  usually  associated  with 
Anu,  the  sky-god,  and  the  worship  of  both  was  car- 
ried as  far  west  as'  Canaan.1  He  is  spoken  of  in  the 
tablets  as  "Dagon,  the  hero  of  the  great  gods,  the 
beloved  of  thy  heart,  the  prince,  the  favorite  of  Bel/' 
etc.  The  name  is  a  word  of  Accadian  origin,  mean- 
ing "exalted." 

MOLECH. 

Of  Molech  little  is  said  in  the  tablets,  except  that 
"he  took  the  children,"2  but  a  curious  fragment  of 

1  Compare  Judges  xvi,  23;  also  1  Samuel  v 

2  Tablets  of  Tel-El-Armana,  "  Dispatches  from  Palestine  in  the  century 
before  the  Exodus,"  Rec.  of  P.  Vol.  I,  p.  64. 


64  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

an  old  Accadian  hymn  indicates  that  the  children  of 
these  highlanders  were  offered,  as  burnt  offerings, 
in  very  early  times;  and  hence,  says  Prof.  Sayce, 
"the  bloody  sacrifices  offered  to  Molech  were  no  Se- 
mitic invention,  but  handed  on  to  them,  with  so  much 
else,  by  the  Turanian  population  of  Chaldea."1  The 
Mosaic  law  was  especially  severe  upon  this  "abomina- 
tion" of  human  sacrifices,  the  death  penalty  being 
ordered  for  every  such  offence.2 

CHEMOSH. 

This  sun-god  was  worshipped  as  the  Supreme,  and 
in  his  honor,  his  early  worshippers  sang  praises,  offered 
sacrifices  and  performed  incantations.  The  success  of 
Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  in  his  revolt  against  the  king 
of  Israel,  was  commemorated  by  the  erection  of  the 
celebrated  Moabite  stone3  whereon  was  recorded  the 
inscription  ascribing  his  victory  to  Chemosh,  his  fa- 
vorite deity.  The  principal  title  of  Chemosh4  was 
"Judge  of  heaven  and  earth/'  but  he  afterward  held 
a  less  important  position  in  the  Chaldaic-Babylonian 
pantheon,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Assyrians,  and 

1  Babylonian  Literature,  p.  64. 

2  Com  pare  Lev.  xx,  2;    Deut.  xii,  31,  and  kindred  passages. 

3  The  Moabite  stone  was  about  three  feet  and  nine  inches   long,   two 
feet  and  four  inches  in  breadth  and  fourteen  inches  thick.     The  inscrip- 
tion contained  many   incidents  concerning  the  wars  of  King  Mesha  with 
Israel;    see  also  2  Kings,  3d  chap.     The  literature   connected  with  this 
stone  is  very  great,  no  less  than  forty-nine  Orientalists  having  written  in 
various  languages  upon  this  fascinating   theme,   and  although  many  of 
these  productions  are  merely    papers  or   brochures,  there  are   at    least 
eight  different  volumes  upon  this  subject. 

The  characters  are  Phoenician,  and  form  a  link  between  those  of  the 
Baal-Lebanon  inscription  of  the  tenth  century  B.  C.  and  those  of  the 
Siloam  text. 

<  Chemosh,  who  is  called  "the  abomination  of  the  Moabites,"  is  al- 
luded to  in  Numb,  xxi,  29;  also  Jer.  xlviii,  7,  and  various  other  passages. 


THE   POETRY  AND   MYTHOLOGY  OF  THE  TABLETS.      65 

was  considered  inferior  to  Sin,  the  moon-god,  who  was 
sometimes  said  to  be  his  father.  There  are  several 
tablets  bearing  magical  incantations  and  songs  to  the 
sun-god. 

But  the  hideous  idols  that  occupied  the  palatial 
temples  of  Chemosh  at  Larsam,  in  Southern  Chaldea, 
and  at  Sippara,  in  the  north  of  Babylonia,  became 
more  refined  in  the  poetry  of  the  Vedas,  and  he  ap- 
peared in  the  mythology  of  the  Hindus  as  Surya,  the, 
god  of  day,  who  rode  across  the  heavens  in  a  car  of 
flame  drawn  by  milk-white  horses. 

INCANTATIONS  TO   FIRE   AND   WATER 

There  are  also  Assyrian  incantations  to  fire  and 
water,  which  represent  the  imagery  of  the  primitive 
Babylonians,  and  these  inscriptions  also  suggest  a 
possible  foundation  for  the  hymns  of  the  Rig-veda. 
There  is  a  great  similarity  of  style  between  the  lit- 
erature of  the  tablets  and  the  early  hymns  of  the 
Hindus.  The  tablets  speak  of  "An  incantation  to  the 
waters  pure,  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates — the  water 
in  which  the  abyss  firmly  is  established,  the  noble 
mouth  of  Hea  shines  upon  them. 

Waters  they  are  shining  (clear),  waters  they  are 
bright.  The  god  of  the  river  puts  him  (the  en- 
chanter) to  flight,"  etc.  In  the  incantation  to  fire, 
there  are  also  many  eloquent  passages:  "The  Fire- 
god — the  prince  which  is  in  the  lofty  country — the 
warrior,  son  of  the  abyss — the  god  of  fire  with  thy 
holy  fires — in  the  house  of  darkness,  light  thou  art 
establishing. 

Of  Bronze  and  lead,  the  mixer  of  them  thou  (art). 


66  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

Of  silver  and  gold,  the  blesser  of  them  thou  (art)."1 
This  Fire-god  of  the  Accadians  was  represented  by  the 
Hindu  Agni,  from  whose  body  issued  seven  streams  of 
glory,  and  by  Loki,  whose  burning  breath  is  poured 
from  the  throbbing  mountains  of  the  Northmen. 


In  this  pantheon  of  mythology,  as  denned  by  the 
tablets,  Im  was  the  god  of  the  sky,  sometimes  called 
Rimmon,  the  god  of  lightning  and  storms,  of  rain  and 
thunder.  He  is  represented  among  the  Hindus  as 
Indra,  who  furiously  drives  his  tawny  steeds  to  the 
battle  of  the  elements.  With  the  Greek  and  Latins 
he  was  personated  by  Zeus  and  Jupiter,  "the  cloud- 
compelling  Jove/'  while  among  the  Northmen  he 
wears  the  form  of  Thor,  whose  frown  is  the  gathering 
of  the  storm-clouds,  and  whose  angry  voice  echoes  in 
the  thunder-bolt. 

BAAL, 

or  Bel  (plural  Baalim),  was  also  an  important  char- 
acter, and  indeed,  according  to  Dr.  Oppert,  all  of 
the  Phoenician  gods  were  included  under  the  general 
name  of  Baal,2  and  human  sacrifices  were  often  made 
upon  their  blood-stained  altars.  He  had  a  magnifi- 
cent temple  in  Tyre,  which  was  founded  by  Hiram, 
where  he  had  symbolic  pillars,  one  of  gold  and  one 
of  smaragdus.  An  inscription3  on  the  sarcophagus  of 

i  Tablet  K  4902  of  the  British  Museum  Collection,  translated  by  Ernest 
A.  Budge. 

2 "They  have  builded  also  the  high  places  of  Baal,  to  burn  their  sons 
with  fire  for  burnt  offerings  unto  Baal,"  etc.  (Jeremiah  xlx.  5.  See 
also  many  kindred  passages.) 

3  This  inscription  was  translated  by  Dr.  Oppert,  and  Esmunazar  is 
supposed  to  have  lived  in  the  fourth  century  B.  C. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OP  THE  TABLETS.      67 

Esmunazar,  king  of  the  two  Sidons,  claims  that  he, 
too,  built  a  temple  to  Ashtaroth,  and  "  placed  there 
the  images  of  Ashtaroth/'  and  also  "the  temple  of 
Baal-Sidon,  and  the  temple  of  Astarte,  who  bears 
the  name  of  this  Baal ; "  that  is,  the  temple  of  Baal 
and  tfre  temple  of  Astarte,  or  Ashtaroth,  at  Sidon. 

The  grossest  sensuality  characterized  some  forms  of 
the  worship  of  Baal  and  Ashtaroth.  Indeed,  it  can 
only  be  compared  to  the  unmentionable  rites  which 
two  thousand  years  later  pertained  to  the  worship  of 
Krishna  and  Siva. 

In  the  inscription  of  Tiglath  Pilesar  I,  Baal  is 
called  "the  King  of  Constellations,"  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  thus  worshipped  is  a  peculiar  explana- 
tion of  the  frequent  condemnation  in  the  book  of 
Kings  of  the  worship  of  "the  host  of  Heaven/' 
which  is  repeatedly  spoken  of  in  connection  with 
the  altars  of  Baal.1 

TAMMUZ. 

This  is  another  form  of  the  sun-god,  who  is  rep- 
resented as  being  slain  by  the  boar's  tusk  of  winter. 
June  is  the  month  of  Tammuz,  and  his  festival  be- 
gan with  the  cutting  of  the  sacred  fir  tree  in  which 
the  god  had  hidden  himself.  A  tablet  in  the  British 
Museum  states  that  the  sacred  dark  fir  tree  which 
grew  in  the  city  of  Eridu,  was  the  couch  of  the 
mother  goddess.2  The  sacred  tree  having  been  cut  and 
carried  into  the  idol-temple,  there  came  the  search 
for  Tammuz,  when  the  devotees  ran  wildly  about 

12  Kings  xvii,  16,  and  kindred  passages, 
a  Western  Asia  Inscriptions,  Vol.  IV.  p.  32. 


68  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

weeping  and  wailing  for  the  lost  one,1  and  cutting 
themselves  with  knives.  His  wife,  Ishtar,  descended 
to  the  lower  world  to  search  for  him,  and  the  tab- 
lets furnish  another  poem  which  seems  to  celebrate 
a  temple  similar  to  that  recorded  by  Maimonides,  in 
which  the  Babylonian  gods  gathered  around  the-  image 
of  the  sun-god,  to  lament  his  death.  The  statue  of 
Tammuz  was  placed  on  a  bier  and  followed  by  bands 
of  mourners,  crying  and  singing  a  funeral  dirge. 
He  is  also  called  Duzi,  "the  son."  Tammuz  is  the 
proper  Syriac  name  for  Adonis  of  the  Greeks. 

ISHTAR. 

This  goddess,  who  is  sometimes  called  Astarte, 
was  the  most  important  female  deity  of  this  early 
pantheon.  The  Persian  form  of  the  word  is  Astara. 
In  Phoenician  it  is  Ashtaroth,2  and  according  to  Dr. 
Oppert  all  the  Phoenician  goddesses  were  included 
under  this  general  name.  Another  form  of  the  name 
afterward  appeared  in  Greek  mythology  as  Asteria, 
and  it  was  applied  to  the  beautiful  goddess  who  fled 
from  the  suit  of  Jove,  and,  flinging  herself  down 
from  heaven  into  the  sea,  became  the  island  after- 
ward named  Delos. 

The  farther  back  we  go  in  the  world's  history 
the  nearer  we  approach  to  the  original  idea  of  mono- 
theism, and  originally  there  was  only  one  goddess, 
Ishtar  or  Ashtaroth,  personifying  both  love  and  war, 

i  The  prophet  Ezekiel  speaks  of  the  fact  that  "  there  sat  women  weeping 
for  Tammuz,"  as  even  a  "greater  abomination"  than  burning  incense  to 
idols.  (See  Ezekiel  viii.  13-14.) 

2The  worship  of  Ashtaroth,  which  represented  the  grossest  licentiousness 
and  demanded  human  sacrifices,  is  strongly  condemned  in  Judges  ii,  12-13, 
and  many  other  passages. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      69 

but  two  such  opposite  characteristics  could  not  long 
remain  the  leading  attributes  of  the  same  deity,  and 
hence  after  a  time,  there  were  mentioned  three  god- 
desses bearing  the  same  name. 

ISHTAR   OF    ARBELA 

was  the  goddess  of  war,  the  "  Lady  of  Battles." 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Anu,  whose  messengers  were 
the  seven  evil  spirits,  and  the  favorite  goddess  of 
King  Assur-bani-pal,  who  claims  that  he  received  his 
bow  from  her,  though  he  declares  in  his  inscriptions 
that  he  worshipped  also  Bel  or  Baal,  and  Nebo ;  he 
frequently  implores  the  protection  of  Ishtar. 

"Oh,  thou,  goddess  of  goddesses,  terrible  in  battle, 
goddess  in  war,  queen  of  the  gods !  Teuman,  king 
of  Elam,  he  gathered  his  army  and  prepared  for  war; 
he  urges  his  fighting  men  to  go  to  Assyria.  Oh, 
thou,  archer  of  the  gods,  like  a  weight,  in  the  midst 
of  the  battle,  throw  him  down  and  crush  him."1 
Ishtar  of  Arbela  afterward  became  the  Bellona  of 
the  Latins,  and  the  Enyo  of  the  Greeks.  Under  the 
name  of  Anatis,  or  Anahid,  she  was  worshipped  in 
Armenia,  and  also  in  Cappadocia,  where  she  had  a 
splendid  temple,  served  by  a  college  of  priests,  and 
more  than  six  thousand  temple  servants.  Her  image, 
according  to  Pliny,2  was  of  solid  gold,  and  her  high 
priest  was  second  only  to  the  king  himself.  Strabo 
calls  this  goddess  Enyo,  and  Berosus  considers  that 
she  is  identical  with  Venus.  The  inscriptions  of  Ar- 
taxerxes,  discovered  at  Susa,  call  her  Anahid,  which 

1  Annals  of  Assur-bani-pal.  Cylinder  B,  Column  5. 

2  Pliny,  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  II,  p.  619. 


70  PERSIAN   LITEKATUEE. 

was  the  Persian  name  of  the  planet  Venus.  The 
characteristics  of  Venus,  the  queen  of  beauty,  may 
seem  somewhat  at  variance  with  Ishtar  of  Arbela, 
the  goddess  of  war,  but  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  Greeks  of  Cythera,  one  of  the  Ionian  islands, 
worshipped  an  armed  Venus',  and  from  this  island 
she  took  the  name  of  Cythera ;  the  fable  that  she 
rose  from  the  sea  probably  means  that  her  worship 
was  introduced  into  the  island  by  a  maritime  peo- 
ple, doubtless  the  Phoenicians. 

ISHTAR   OF  ERECH, 

the  daughter  of  Anu  and  Annatu,  is  another  form 
of  this  popular  goddess,  and  one  of  the  Assyrian 
tablets  refers  to  the  dedication  of  horses  at  the  tem- 
ple of  Bit-ili  at  Erech,  where  the  king  of  Elam 
dedicated  white  horses  with  silver  saddles  to  Ishtar, 
the  tutelar  divinity  of  Erech. 

In  the  sixth  tablet  of  the  Izdubar  series,  we  find 
an  Ishtar  whose  characteristics  are  so  different  from 
either  the  goddess  of  love  or  the  goddess  of  war,  that 
we  are  constrained  to  believe  that  it  must  refer  to 
Ishtar  of  Erech.  She  here  appears  as  the  queen  of 
witchcraft,  resembling  the  Hecate  of  the  Greeks  in 
her  funereal  abode.  Indeed,  Hecate  was  fabled  to  be 
the  daughter  of  Asteria,  which  is  merely  the  Greek 
form  of  the  name  Ishtar,  and  Pausanius  l  mentions  an 
Astrateia  whose  worship  was  brought  to  Greece  from 
the  East. 

i  Pausanius,  III,  25. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE   TABLETS. 
LEGEND   OF   ISHTAR   AND   IZDUBAR. 


''1.     He  had  thrown  off  his  tattered  garments, 

2.  his    pack  of   goods  he  had  lain  down  from   his 

back. 

3.  (he  had  flung  off)  his  rags  of  poverty  and  clothed 

himself  in  dress  of  honor. 

4.  (With  a  royal  robe)  he  covered  himself, 

5.  and  he  bound  a  diadem  on  his  brow. 

6.  Then  Ishtar  the  queen  lifted  up  her  eyes  to  the 

throne  of  Izdubar — 

7.  Kiss    me,    Izdubar !    she   said,  for  I  will  marry 

thee! 

8.  Let  us  live  together,  I  and  thou,  in  one  place  ; 

9.  thou  shalt   be    my  husband,  and   I  will    be    thy 

wife. 

10.  Thou  shalt  ride  in  a  chariot  of  lapis-lazuli,1 

11.  whose  wheels  are  golden  and  its  pole  resplendent. 

12.  Shining   bracelets  shalt  thou  wear  every  day. 

13.  By  our  house  the  cedar  trees  in  green  vigor  shall 

grow, 

14.  and  when  thou  shall  enter  it 

15.  (suppliant)  crowds  shall  kiss  thy  feet  ! 

16.  Kings,  Lords,  and  Princes  shall  bow  down  before 

thee! 

17.  The  tribute  of  hills  and  plains  they  shall  bring 

to  thee  as  offerings, 

18.  thy  flocks  and  thy  herds  shall  all  bear  twins, 

19.  thy  race  of  mules  shall  be  magnificent, 

20.  thy    triumphs  in  the  chariot  race  shall  be  pro- 

claimed without  ceasing, 

i  Literally  "  blue  stone; "  it  was  a  brilliant  dark  blue. 


72  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

21.  and  among  the  chiefs  thou   shalt  never  have  an 

equal. 

22.  (Then  Izdubar)  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

23.  (and  said)  to  Ishtar  the  queen  : 

24.  (Lady  !  full  well)  I  know  thee  by  experience. 

25.  Sad  and  funereal  (is  thy  dwelling  place), 

26.  sickness  and  famine  surround  thy  path, 

27.  (false  and)  treacherous  is  thy  crown  of  divinity. 

28.  Poor  and  worthless  is  thy  crown  of  royalty 

29.  (Yes  !  I  have  said  it)  I  know  thee  by  experience. 

COLUMN  II. 

1.  Wailings  thou  didst  make 

2.  for  Tarzi  thy  husband, 

3.  (and    yet)    year    after   year    with   thy   cups   thou 

didst  poison  him. 

4.  Thou  hadst  a  favorite  and  beautiful  eagle, 

5.  thou  didst  strike  him  (with  thy  wand)  and  didst 

break  his  wings  ; 

6.  then  he  stood  fast  in  the  forest  (only)   fluttering 

his  wings. 

7.  Thou  hadst  a  favorite  lion  full  of  vigor, 

8.  thou  didst  pull  out  his  teeth,  seven  at  a  time. 

9.  Thou  hadst  a  favorite  horse,   renowned  in  war, 

10.  he    drank   a  draught   and  with   fever  thou   didst 

poison  him  ! 

11.  Twice  seven  hours  without  ceasing 

12.  with  burning  fever   and   thirst  thou   didst  poison 

him. 

13.  His  mother,  the  goddess  Silili,  with  thy  cups  thou 

didst  poison. 

14.  Thou  didst  love  the  king  of  the   land 


THE    POETRY    AND    MYTHOLOGY    OF   THE   TABLETS.      73 

15.  whom   continually  thou  didst  render  ill  with  thy 

drugs, 

16.  though  every  day  he  offered   libations  and  sacri- 

fices. 

17.  Thou    didst    strike    him    (with    thy    wand)    and 

didst  change  him  into  a  leopard. 

18.  The  people  of  his  own  city  drove  him  from  it, 

19.  and  his  own  dogs  bit  him  to  pieces  ! 

20.  Thou  didst  love  a  workman,1  a  rude  man  of  no 

instruction, 

21.  who    constantly    received    his   daily    wages    from 

thee, 

22.  and  every  day  made  bright  thy  vessels. 

23.  In  thy  pot  a  savory  mess  thou  didst  boil  for  him, 

24.  saying,  Come,  my  servant  and  eat  with  us  on  the 

feast   day 

25.  and  give  thy   judgment   on    the  goodness  of  our 

pot-herbs. 

26.  The  workman   replied  to  thee, 

27.  Why  dost  thou   desire  to  destroy  me  ? 

28.  Thou  art  not  cooking  !     I  will  not  eat ! 

29.  For   I   should   eat  food  bad   and   accursed, 

30.  and  the  thousand  unclean  things  thou  hast  pois- 

oned it  with. 

31.  Thou   didst   hear  that  answer  (and  wert  enraged), 

32.  Thou  didst  strike  him  (with  thy  wand)  and  didst 

change   him  into  a  pillar, 

33.  and   didst  place   him   in  the  midst  of  the  desert! 

34.  I   have    not  yet    said   a  crowd    of  things !    many 

more  I   have  not  added. 

i  The  eagle,  the  lion,  the  horse,  the  king  and  the  workman  are  supposed 
to  represent  the  numerous  bridegrooms  of  this  treacherous  goddess. 


74  PEBSIAK   LITERATURE. 

35.  Lady !  thou  wouldst  love  me  as  tkou    hast  done 

the  others. 

36.  Ishtar  this  speech  listened  to, 

37.  and  Ishtar  was  enraged  and  flew  up  to   heaven. 

38.  Ishtar  came  into  the  presence  of  Anu  her  father, 

39.  and  into  the  presence  of  Annatu,  her  mother,  she 

came. 

40.  Oh,   my    father,   Izdubar    has    cast    insults    upon 

me."1 

The  student  of  comparative  mythology  will  recog- 
nize in  the  above  legend  the  original  idea  of  much  of 
the  classic  lore  of  Greece.  Izdu  bar's  return,  and  the 
throwing  off  of  his  disguise,  suggest  the  adventures  of 
Ulysses  as  related  by  Homer,  and  his  return  to  Ithaca 
as  a  beggar. 

"  Next  came  Ulysses  lowly  at  the  door, 
A  figure  despicable,  old  and  poor ; 
In  squalid  vests  with  many  a  gaping  rent, 
Propped  on  a  staff  and   trembling  as  he  went." 
Odyssey,  Book  xvii. 

The  character  of  Ishtar  as  presented  in  this  tablet 
is  apparently  a  prototype  not  only  of  Hecate,  but  also 
of  Medea,  whose  chariot  was  drawn  by  winged  ser- 
pents, and  the  cauldron  or  pot,  which  Ishtar  filled 
with  her  magic  herbs,  suggests  the  statement  of  Ovid 
that  Medea  on  one  occasion  spent  no  less  than  nine 
days  and  nights  in  collecting  herbs  for  her  cauldron.2 
The  character  of  Ishtar  may  also  have  suggested  that 
of  Circe,  who 

1  Inscriptions  Western  Asia,  Vol.  IV,  p.  48,  published  by  the  British  Mu- 
seum, and  translated  by  H.  Fox  Talbot,  F.  R.  S. 

2  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  VII,  284. 


THE    POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY    OF   THE   TABLETS.      75 

"  Mixed  the  potion,  fraudulent  of  soul, 
The  poison  mantled  in  a  golden  bowl/' 

and  she  loved  Ulysses  as  Ishtar  loved  Izdubar,  even 
though  she  had  transformed  all  of  his  companions 
into  swine. 

In  column  II  of  the  tablet  under  consideration,  we 
find  the  story  of  the  king  whom  Ishtar  changed  into 
a  leopard,  "  and  his  own  dogs  bit  him  to  pieces." 
No  one  can  doubt  that  we  see  here  the  original  of  the 
Greek  fable  of  Actaeon,  the  hero  who  offended  the 
goddess  Diana,  when  she  revenged  herself  by  changing 
him  into  a  deer,  and  his  dogs  no  longer  knowing 
their  master,  fell  upon  him  and  tore  him  to  pieces.1 
The  classic  authors  of  Greece  and  Rome,  however,  at- 
tribute the  fate  of  Actaeon  to  the  vengeance  of  the 
strong  and  graceful  Diana,  whom  he  offended  by 
allowing  his  eyes  to  rest  upon  her  rich  beauty,  while 
the  tablet  ascribes  the  fate  of  the  king  to  the  wanton 
cruelty  of  Ishtar. 

Diana  is  sometimes  identified  with  Hecate,  the 
daughter  of  Asteria  or  Ishtar,  and  she  retains  the 
characteristics  of  her  mother  by  appearing  as  the  god- 
dess of  the  moon.  Her  temple  at  Ephesus,  with  its 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  columns  of  Parian  marble, 
was  one  of  the  "  Seven  Wonders  of  the  World,"  but 
the  hideous  idol  within  it  was  roughly  carved  of 
wood,  not  as  a  beautiful  huntress,  but  as  an  Egyptian 
monster,  whose  deformity  was  hidden  by  a  curtain.2 

1  The  great  celebrity  of  this  fable  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  Ovid 
in  his  Metamorphoses  (III,  306),  has  preserved  the  individual  names  of  all 
the  dogs,  thirty-five  in  number. 

2  "  Ye  meu  of  Ephesus,  what  man  is  there  that  knoweth  not  how  that  the 
city  of  the  Ephesians  is  a  worshipper  of  the  great  goddess  Diana,  and  of  the 


76  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

The  same  Diana,  however,  in  the  hands  of  Grecian 
poets,  becomes  the  strong  and  beautiful  goddess  of  the 
chase,  followed  by  her  train  of  nymphs  in  pursuit  of 
flying  deer  with  golden  horns. 

Assyrian  literature  has  evidently  furnished  the  basis 
of  several  stories  which  are  found  in  Ovid's  Metamor- 
phoses, besides  that  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  which,  as 
he  expressly  states,  is  a  tale  of  Babylon. 

ISHTAR,   THE   QUEEN   OF   LOVE  AND   BEAUTY. 

Ishtar  of  Nineveh,  who  is  identified  with  Beltis, 
the  wife  of  Baal,  became  the  goddess  of  love,  "the 
divine  queen"  or  "divine  lady"  of  Kidmuri,  which 
was  the  name  of  her  temple  at  Nineveh.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Sin,  the  moon-god  ;  indeed,  she  is  some- 
times represented  as  the  full  moon,  for  which  reason 
she  is  called  the  goddess  Fifteen  in  Assyria,  because 
the  month  consisting  of  thirty  days,  the  moon  was 
full  on  the  fifteenth.  She  is  the  prototype  of  Freyja, 
the  weeping  goddess  of  love  among  the  Northmen,  and 
the  Aphrodite  of  the  Greeks  —  the  beautiful  nymph 
who  sprang  from  the  soft  foam  of  the  sea,  and  was 
received  in  a  land  of  flowers,  by  the  gold-filleted  Sea- 
sons, who  clothed  her  in  garments  immortal.  Her 
chariot  was  drawn  by  milk-white  swans,  and  her  gar- 
lands were  of  rose  and  myrtle. 

Ishtar  of  Nineveh  appears  as  the  imperious  queen 
of  love  and  beauty,  and  was  undoubtedly  the  origi- 
nal of  the  Latin  Venus.  Indeed,  Anthon  says,  "  There 

image  which  fell  down  from  Jupiter  ?  (Acts  xix,  35.)  This  question  of  the 
town  clerk  is  strangely  illustrated  by  an  inscription  found  by  Chandler  near 
the  aqueduct  at  Ephesus.  which  states  that  "  It  is  notorious  that  not  only 
among  the  Ephesians,  but  also  everywhere  among  the  Greek  nations,  tem- 
ples are  consecrated  to  her,"  etc. 


THE    POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE   TABLETS.      77 

is  none  of  the  Olympians  of  whom  the  foreign  origin 
is  so  probable  as  this  goddess,  and  she  is  generally 
regarded  as  being  the  same  with  the  Astarte  (Ashta- 
roth)  of  the  Phoenicians."1  We  find  upon  the  tablets  a 
beautiful  legend  concerning  her  visit  to  Hades.  She 
went  in  search  of  her  husband  Tammuz,  as  Orpheus 
was  afterward  represented  as  going  to  recover  his  wife, 
when  the  music  from  his  golden  shell  stopped  the 
wheel  of  Ixion,  and  made  Tantalus  forget  his  thirst. 
So  also  Hermod,  the  son  of  Odin,  in  the  mythology 
of  the  Northmen  rode  to  Hel  upon  the  fleet-footed 
Sleipnir  in  order  to  rescue  his  brother  Balder. 

It  was  doubtless  through  the  Phoenicians  that  this 
legend  reached  the  Greeks,  and  was  there  reproduced 
in  a  form  almost  identical  with  the  fable  of  the  tab- 
lets. Adonis,  the  sun-god,  who  was  the  hero,  was 
killed  by  the  tusk  of  a  wild  boar,  even  as  Tammuz, 
the  sun-god  of  Assyria,  was  slain  by  the  boar's  tusk 
of  winter.  Venus,  the  queen  of  love  and  beauty,  was 
inconsolable  at  his  loss,  and  at  last  obtained  from  Pro- 
serpina, the  queen  of  hades,  permission  for  Adonis  to 
spend  every  alternate  six  months  with  her  upon  the 
earth,  while  the  rest  of  the  time  should  be  passed  in 
hades.  Thus  also  the  Osiris  of  the  Egyptians  was  sup- 
posed to  be  dead  or  absent  forty  days  in  each  year, 
during  which  time  the  people  lamented  his  loss,  as  the 
Syrians  did  that  of  Tammuz,  as  the  Greeks  did  that 
of  Adonis,  and  as  also  the  Northmen  mourned  for 
Frey. 

Ishtar  is  represented  as  going  down  to  the  regions 
of  darkness  wearing  rings  and  jewels,  with  a  diadem 

i  Anthon's  Class.  Diet. 


78  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

and  girdle  set  with  precious  stones,  and  this  fact  would 
seein  to  indicate  that  the  ancient  city,  which  afterward 
came  under  the  rule  of  Persian  kings,  was  the  home 
of  the  idea  that  whatever  was  buried  with  the  dead 
would  go  with  them  to  the  other  shore.  Hence  India, 
for  ages,  burned  the  favorite  wives,  with  the  dead 
bodies  of  her  rajas,  while  other  tribes  placed  living 
women  in  the  graves  of  their  chiefs,  and  our  own 
Indians  provide  dogs  and  weapons  for  the  use  of  their 
braves  when  they  reach  the  "happy  hunting  grounds." 
We  give  the  following  legend  complete,  as  it  is  found 
upon  the  tablets: 

THE   DESCENT  OF   ISHTAR. 
COLUMN  I. 

"1.     To  the  land  of  Hades,  the  region  of  her  desire, 

2.  Ishtar,  daughter  of  the  moon-god  Sin,  turned  her 

mind. 

3.  And  the  daughter  of  Sin  fixed  her  mind  (to  go 

there). 

4.  To  the  house  where    all    meet,   the  dwelling  of 

the  god  Irkalla, 

5.  to  the  house  men  enter   but  cannot  depart  from, 

6.  to  the  road  men  go  but  cannot  return, 

7.  the  abode  of  darkness  and  famine, 

8.  where  the  earth  is  their  food;  their  nourishment 

clay; 

9.  light  is  not  seen;  in  darkness  they  dwell; 

10.  ghosts  like  birds  nutter  their  wings  there, 

11.  on  the  door  and   gate-posts  the  dust  lies  undis- 

turbed. 

12.  When  Ishtar  arrived  at  the  gate  of  Hades, 


THE    POETRY   AND    MYTHOLOGY    OF   THE   TABLETS.       79 

13.  to  the  keeper  of  the  gate  she  spake: 

14.  Oh  keeper  of  the  entrance!  open  thy  gate! 

15.  Open  thy  gate!  I  say  again  that  I  may  enter. 
1C.  If  thou  openest  not  thy  gate  and  I  enter  not. 

17.  I  will  assault  the  door;  I  will  break  down  the  gate, 

18.  I  will  attack  the   entrance,  I  will  split    open  the 

portals, 

19.  I  will  raise  the  dead  to  be  the  devourers  of  the 

living! 

20.  Upon  the  living  the  dead  shall  prey. 

21.  Then  the  porter  opened  his  mouth  and  spake 

22.  and  said  to  the  great   Ishtar, 

23.  Stay,  Lady!  do  not  shake  down  the  door. 

24.  I  will  go  and  tell  this  to  Queen  Nin-ci-gal. 

25.  The  porter  entered  and  said  to  Nin-ci-gal 

26.  These  curses  thy  sister  Ishtar  (utters) 

27.  blaspheming  thee  with  great  curses. 

28.  When  Nin-ci-gal  heard  this 

29.  she  grew  pale  like  a  flower  that  is  cut  off, 

30.  she  trembled  like  the  stem  of  a  reed. 

31.  I  will  cure  her  of  her  rage,  she  said,  I  will  cure 

her  fury, 

32.  these  curses  will  I  repay  her. 

33.  Light    up    consuming     flames,    light    up    blazing 

straw. 

34.  Let  her  groan   with  the   husbands   who  deserted 

their  wives. 

35.  Let  her  groan    with  the    wives  who    from    their 

husband's  sides  departed. 

36.  Let  her  groan   with  the   youths  who   led   dishon- 

ored lives. 


80  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

37.  Go,  porter,  open  the  gate  for  her, 

38.  but  strip  her,  like  others  at  other  times. 

39.  The  porter  went  and  opened  the  gate. 

40.  Enter,   Lady  of  Tiggaba1  city.     It  is  permitted. 

41.  The  Sovereign  of  Hades  will  come  to   meet  thee. 

42.  The    first   gate    admitted   her,    and   stopped   her ; 

there  was  taken  off  the  great  crown  from  her 
head. 

43.  Keeper!  do  not  take  off  from  me  the  great  crown 

from  my  head. 

44.  Enter,  Lady  !  for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

45.  The  second  gate  admitted   her  and  stopped   her ; 

there  were  taken  off  the  earrings  of  her  ears. 

46.  Keeper !  do  not  take  off  from  me  the  earrings  of 

my  ears. 

47.  Enter,  Lady !  for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

48.  The  third    gate    admitted   her   and   stopped    her ; 

there  were  taken  off  the  precious  stones  from 
her  head. 

49.  Keeper !   do   not  take   off   from  me   the    precious 

stones  from  my  head. 

50.  Enter,  Lady  !  for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

51.  The  fourth   gate  admitted  her   and  stopped    her; 

there    were  taken   off  the    small  lovely  gems 
from  her  forehead. 

i  A  principal  seat  of  Ishtar's  worship. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      81 

52.  Keeper  !   do  not  take  off  from  me  the  small  lovely 

gems  from  my  forehead 

53.  Enter,  Lady  !    for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

54.  The    fifth    gate   admitted    her  and   stopped    her; 

there  was   taken  off  the  emerald  girdle  of  her 
waist. 

55.  Keeper !    do   not   take   off  from   me   the  emerald 

girdle  from  my  waist. 

56.  Enter,  Lady !  for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

57.  The   sixth    gate  admitted   her  and  stopped   her; 

there  was    taken  off   the  golden   rings  of   her 
hands  and  feet. 

58.  Keeper !   do   not   take    off    from    me  the    golden 

rings  of  my  hands  and  feet. 

59.  Enter,  Lady !    for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

60.  The  seventh  gate  admitted  her  and  stopped  her; 

there   was    taken   off   the    last  garment   from 
her  body. 

61.  Keeper !    do   not  take   off  from   me   the  last  gar- 

ment from  my  body. 

62.  Enter,  Lady  !  for  the  queen  of  the  land  demands 

her  jewels. 

63.  After    that    mother    Ishtar     had    descended    into 

Hades. 

64.  Nin-ci-gal  saw  her  and  derided  her  to  her  face. 

65.  Ishtar    lost   her    reason   and    heaped   curses    upon 

her. 


82  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

66.  Nin-ci-gal  opened  her  mouth  and  spake 

67.  to  Namtar,  her  messenger,  a  command  she  gave : 

68.  Go,  Namtar 

69.  Bring  her  out  for  punishment.1 

COLUMN  II.  . 

1.  The   divine   messenger   of  the  gods  lacerated  his 

face2  before  them. 

2.  He  tore  his  vest  (or  vestments).     Words  he  spake 

rapidly; 

3.  the   Sun    approached,    he    joined    the   Moon,   his 

father.3 

4.  Weeping,  they  spake  thus  to  Hea  the  king : 

5.  Ishtar  descended  into  the  earth   and  she  did  not 

rise  again. 

(Here  follow  a  few  lines  which  are  unworthy  of 
repetition,  as  they  very  coarsely  describe  the  pitiable 
condition  of  the  world  when  forsaken  by  the  goddess 
of  love.) 

11.  Then   the  god   Hea   in  the    depth   of   his   mind 

laid  a  plan  ; 

12.  he  formed  for  her  escape   a  figure   of   a   man  of 

clay. 

13.  Go  to  save  her,  Phantom  !  present   thyself  at  the 

portal  of  Hades: 

14.  the  seven  gates  of  Hades  will   open  before  thee  ; 

15.  Nin-ci-gal  will  see  thee  and  will  come  to  thee. 

iThe  end  of  this  line,  and  all  the  remaining  lines  of  Column  I,  are 
lost,  but  some  mutilated  fragments  indicate  that  Namtar  is  commanded 
to  afflict  Ishtar  with  dire  diseases  of  the  eyes,  the  feet,  the  heart,  the 
head,  etc. 

2  A  sign  of  violent  grief  in  the  East,   forbidden  in  Deut.  xiv,  1;    also 
Lev.  xix,  28. 

3  Nabonidus  says  in  his  inscription  (Col.  II,  17)    Oh,  sun,  protect  this 
temple,  together  with  the  moon,  thy  father. 


THE   POETKY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      83 

16.  When  her    mind    shall    be    grown    calm  and   her 

anger  shall  be  worn  off 

17.  name  her  with  the  names  of  the  great  gods  ! 

18.  Prepare  thy  frauds  !    On  deceitful  tricks  fix  thy 

mind  ! 

19.  The  chief est  deceitful  trick  !      Bring  forth  fishes 

of  the  waters  out  of  an  empty  vessel. 

20.  This  thing  will  astonish  Nm-ci-gal, 

21.  Then  to  Ishtar  she  will  restore  her  clothing. 

22.  A  great  reward  for  these  things  shall  not  fail. 

23.  Go  save   her,   Phantom  !    and    the  great  assembly 

of  the  people  shall  crown  thee  ! 

24.  Meats  the  first  in  the  city  shall  be  thy  food. 

25.  Wine  the  most  delicious  in  the  city  shall  be  thy 

drink. 

26.  A  royal  palace  shall  be  thy  dwelling. 

27.  A  throne  of  state  shall  be   thy  seat. 

28.  Magician  and  conjurer  shall  kiss  the  hem  of  thy 

garment. 

29.  Nin-ci-gal  opened  her  mouth  and  spake 

30.  to  Namtar  her  messenger,  a  command  she  gave  : 

31.  Go  Namtar  !  clothe  the  Temple  of  Justice  ! 

32.  Adorn  the  images  and  the  altars, 

33.  Bring    out    Aimnnaka.1      Seat  him  on  a    golden 

throne. 

34.  Pour  out  for    Ishtar    the   waters    of  life  and  let 

her  depart  from  my  dominions. 

35.  Namtar  went ;  and  clothed  the  Temple  of  Justice; 

36.  he  adorned  the  images  and  the  altars; 

i  A  genius  often  mentioned,  who  here  acts  the  part  of  a  judge,  pronounc- 
ing the  absolution  of  Ishtar. 


84  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

37.  he  brought   out  Anunnaka;    on  a  golden  throne 

he  seated  him  ; 

38.  he  poured  out  for  Ishtar  the  waters  of  life. 

39.  Then  the  first  gate  let  her  forth,  and  restored  to 

her  the  first  garment  of  her  body. 

40.  The    second    gate  let  her  forth    and   restored  to 

her  the  diamonds  of   her  hands  and  feet. 

41.  The  third  gate  let  her  forth  and  restored  to  her 

the  emerald  girdle  of  her  waist. 

42.  The  fourth  gate  let  her  forth  and  restored  to  her 

the  small  lovely  gems  of  her  forehead. 

43.  The  fifth  gate  let  her   forth  and  restored  to  her 

the  precious  stones  of  her  head. 

44.  The  sixth  gate  let  her  forth  and  restored  to  her 

the  earrings  of  her  ears. 

45.  The  seventh  gate  let  her  forth  and    restored  to 

her  the  crown  of  her  head."1 

Surely  here  is  poetry — the  haughty  queen  of  love 
and  beauty  imperiously  demands  an  entrance  into  the 
land  of  shadows  that  she  may  recover  her  beloved. 
She  threatens  to  break  down  the  very  gates  of  hades 
and  raise  the  dead  to  devour  the  living  if  her  wish 
is  refused.  She  shrinks  at  no  sacrifice  which  her 
love-lighted  mission  may  cost.  A  great  crown  is  taken 
from  her  head,  but  she  stays  not.  Her  jewels  and 
precious  stones — her  girdle  of  priceless  gems — is  taken 
from  her,  and  still  she  presses  forward  in  quest  of 
her  love. 

But  when  at  last  the  seven  gates  of  hades  have 
closed  upon  her  luxurious  form,  the  world  misses  her 

i  Tablet  K,  162,  British  Museum,  translated  by  H.  Fox  Talbot,  F.  R.  S. 
Records  of  the  Past,  Vol.  1, 1st  Series. 


THE   POETRY   AND   MYTHOLOGY   OF  THE  TABLETS.      85 

joyous  presence — the  splendor  is  stolen  from  Beauty's 
eyes — the  crimson  touch  of  life  has  faded  from  her 
lips — the  doves  and  sun-birds  no  longer  chant  their 
love  songs  in  the  crowns  of  the  palm  trees,  and  the 
sorrowing  night  bird  trills  the  plaintive  tale  to  the 
closed  and  weeping  roses.  Nay,  even  the  sky  seems 
to  forget  to  light  up  the  couch  of  the  dying  sun 
with  draperies  of  crimson  and  gold,  and  all  the  world 
is  shrouded  in  darkness  and  cold  despair.  But  Hea, 
in  his  ocean  home,  hears  the  wail  of  the  gods  who 
mourn  the  absence  of  Ishtar,  and  he  comes  to  the 
rescue.  The  seven  gates  of  hades  swing  again  upon 
their  hinges,  and  with  crowns  and  jewels  and  girdle 
restored,  the  imperial  goddess  comes  forth  to  resume 
her  sway  amid  the  flowers  of  a  love-lighted  earth. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PERSIAN    MYTHOLOGY. 

THE  COMMON  SOURCE  OF  MYTHOLOGY  —  MYTHICAL 
MOUNTAINS  —  RIVERS  —  MYTHICAL  BIRDS  —  AHURA 
MAZDA — ATAR — THE  STORM  GOD — YIMA — THE  CHIN- 
VAT  BRIDGE — MITHRA — RESUME. 

WE  have  briefly  sketched  in  the  preceding  chapter 
the  more  tolerable  features  of  a  mythology  which 
is  evidently  the  common  source  of  the  later  pan- 
theons. The  picture  of  human  sacrifices,  and  practices 
which  are  still  more  revolting,  have  been  avoided,  as 
unnecessary  to  the  general  purpose,  while  the  poetic 
figures  of  these  ancient  myths  are  dwelt  upon  with 
peculiar  pleasure. 

Persian  civilization  was  to  a  great  extent  the  prod- 
uct of  Babylonian  elements,  and  her  mythology  was 
born  of  that  type  of  sensual  idolatry  too  gross  for 
description.  Bijt  the  Persians  were  a  poetic  people, 
and  in  their  hands  these  ancient  myths  were  refined 
and  somewhat  elevated.  The  hideous  idols  called  sun- 
images,  which  were  used  in  the  worship  of  Chemosh, 
gave  place  to  the  adoration  of  the  sun  itself,  as  the 
great  source  of  all  physical  light.  It  was  by  the  hand 
of  Persia  that  the  sacred  bull  of  Egypt  was  smitten 
down,  and  also  the  golden  couch  of  Baal,  with  all  its 
attendant  horrors.  But  even  Persia  is  accused  of  hav- 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  87 

ing  at  times  practiced  the  horrible  rite  of  human  sac- 
rifice, and  the  Babylonian  Venus  found  admission,  even 
among  the  people  whose  king  had  stabbed  the  Egyp- 
tian Apis,  and  overturned  his  shrine.1 

Persia  was  a  land  of  extremes,  and  the  richest  part 
of  her  dominions  was  fated  to  lie  beneath  the  early 
snows,  and  feel  the  severity  of  winter,  while  the 
central  portion  of  the  country  was  one  vast  desert, 
whose  scorching  simoons  were  as  much  to  be  dreaded 
as  the  snows  of  her  northern  table-lands.  The  early 
settlers  of  Iran,  therefore,  were  forced  to  win  their 
bread  and  develop  their  resources  by  the  most  ardu- 
ous labor,  and  the  dreamy  mythology  of  the  Hindus 
gave  way  in  their  minds  to  the  sterner  conflict  be- 
tween good  and  evil. 

The  opposition  between  light  and  darkness  became 
a  prominent  feature  of  their  mythology,  for  the  bat- 
tles which  raged  in  Hindu  skies  between  Indra,  the 
storm  king,  and  his  constant  enemy,  Vritra,  became 
to  the  sons  of  Iran  a  personal  strife  with  the  pow- 
ers of  nature,  and  instead  of  dreaming  of  a  contest 
in  the  clouds,  they  sang  of  the  daily  battle  in  lives 
which  were  crowded  with  hardship.  Hence  it  is 
that  Ormazd  and  Ahriman,  in  their  continual  strife, 
form  the  background  of  the  national  mythology, 
although  Persia  took  the  sun  for  her  emblem,  and 
called  her  kings  by  his  royal  name  ;  a  flashing  globe 

1  The  statement  of  Herodotus  concerning  the  attack  upon  the  sacred  bull 
is  probably  correct,  even  though  the  Egyptian  monuments  claim  that  Cam- 
byses,  and  also  the  Roman  emperors,  bowed  down  to  the  Egyptian  gods. 
We  may  conclude  that  Oambyses,  in  doing  reverence  to  the  gods  of  Egypt, 
was  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  cool  and  politic  father  (Cyrus),  and 
was  guided  in  these  acts  by  the  precedent  which  his  father  had  set  in  refer- 
ence to  the  gods  of  Babylonia. 


88  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

was  the  signal  light  above  the  imperial  tent,  and 
the  golden  eagle  was  perched  upon  the  ensign  that 
led  the  Persian  troops  to  victory. 

MYTHICAL     MOUNTAINS. 

The  silent  mountains  standing  calmly  beneath  the 
skies  of  blue,  while  the  ages  come  and  go,  always 
command  the  reverence  of  the  human  heart.  With 
forests  around  their  feet,  the  gray  peaks  reach  up- 
ward to  dim  and  ashen  heights,  where  the  white 
snow  lies  unpolluted  by  the  foot  of  man.  Their 
frost-crowns  gleam  in  the  sunlight  of  noon,  or 
change  to  tints  of  opal  and  crimson  light  beneath 
the  farewell  fires  of  the  setting  sun.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  in  the  fables  of  all  people  the  gods  are 
enthroned  on  wondrous  heights.  The  old  Assyrian 
kings  wrote  upon  their  strange  tablets  of  "the  world 
mountain/'  which,  although  rooted  in  hades,  still  sup- 
ported the  heavens  with  all  their  starry  hosts.  The 
world  was  bound  to  it  with  a  rope,  like  that  with 
which  the  sea  was  churned  in  the  later  Hindu 
legend,  for  the  lost  ambrosia  of  the  gods,1  or  like  the 
golden  cord  of  Homer  with  which  Zeus  proposed  to 
suspend  the  nether  earth,  after  binding  the  cord 
about  Olympus.2  This  mythical  mountain  was  the 
abode  of  the  gods,  and  it  was  this  of  which  the 
Babylonian  king  said  : 

"  I  will  exalt  my  throne  above  the  stars  of   God  ; 

*  Hindu  Literature,  p.  59. 

2  "Let  down  our  golden  everlasting  chain, 

Whose  strong  embrace  holds  heaven  and  earth  and  men: 

I  fix  the  chain  to  great  Olympus  height, 

And  the  vast  world  hangs  trembling  in  my  sight."-Il.  viii,  19-26. 


PERSIAN    MYTHOLOGY.  89 

I  will  sit  upon  the  mount  of  the  congregation  in 
the  sides  of  the  north ; 

I  will  ascend  above  the  heights  of  the  clouds ; 

I  will  be  like  the  Most  High."1 

It  was  between  the  "  Twin  Mountains "  that  the 
sun  passed  in  its  rising  and  setting,  and  the  rocky 
gates  were  guarded  by  the  "scorpion  men/'  whose 
heads  were  at  the  portals  of  heaven,  and  their  feet 
in  hell  beneath.2 

In  the  mythology  of  the  Hindus,  Mount  Meru  rises 
in  her  solitary  grandeur  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
earth  to  the  height  of  sixty-four  thousand  miles;  and 
there  on  her  sun-kissed  crown,  amidst  gardens  of  fab- 
ulous beauty,  and  flowers  that  never  of  winter  hear — 
where  the  skies  are  of  rose  and  pearl,  and  the  dream- 
like harmonies  of  far-off  voices  are  borne  upon  the  air, 
we  find  the  heaven  of  Indra,  the  abode  of  the  gods.3 
Among  the  Greeks  the  gates  of  Olympus  open  to 
receive  the  imperial  throng,  when 

"The  gods  with  Jove    assume  their  thrones  of  gold." 

When  the  chambers  of  the  east  were  opened,  and 
floods  of  light  were  poured  upon  the  peak,  the  Greek 
poet  dreamt  that  : 

"The  sounding  hinges  ring  on  either  side, 
The  gloomy  volumes  pierced  with  light  divide, 
The  chariot  mounts,  where  deep  in  ambient  skies 
Confused  Olympus'  hundred  heads  arise — 
Where  far  apart  the  Thunderer  fills  his  throne 
O'er  all  the  gods,  superior  and  alone/' 

1  Isa.  xiv,  13. 

2  Ninth  tablet  of  the  Epic  of  Gisdhubar. 

3  Hindu  Literature,  pp.   126-148. 


90  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

But  even  the  storm-swept  heights  of  Olympus, 
where  the  chariots  of  the  gods  were  crushed  to  frag- 
ments beneath  the  lightnings  of  Jove,  were  not  lofty 
enough  for  the  spirit  of  the  Norseman.  Odin's  Val- 
hal,  with  its  roof  of  shields  and  walls  of  gleaming 
spears,  lies  in  heaven  itself,  and  higher  still  is  Gimle, 
the  gold-roofed  hall  of  the  higher  gods.  Far  away  to 
the  northward,  on  the  heights  of  the  Nida  mountains, 
stands  a  hall  of  shining  gold  which  is  the  home  of 
the  Sindre  race.1  These'  are  they  who  smelt  earth's 
gold  from  her  rough  brown  stone,  and  flashing  through 
her  crystals,  the  tints  which  are  hidden  in  the  hearts 
of  the  roses,  they  are  changed  to  rubies  and  garnets. 
These  are  they  who  make  the  sapphires  blue  with 
the  fresh  lips  of  the  violet,  and  mould  earth's  tears 
into  her  purest  pearls. 

In  Persian  mythology  we  find  a  trace  of  "the 
world  mountain"  of  the  old  Assyrian  kings,  as  well 
as  a  thought  which  is  akin  to  the  vine-clad  bowers  of 
Meru,  the  shining  gates  of  Olympus,  and  the  Nida 
mountains  of  the  Norsemen,  for  here  the  Qaf  moun- 
tains surround  the  world  after  the  manner  of  the 
annular  system  described  in  the  Maha-Bharata.2 
This  mythical  range  is  pure  emerald,  and  although 
it  surrounds  the  world,  it  is  placed  between  two  of 
the  horns  of  a  white  ox,  named  Kornit  or  Kajuta. 
He  has  four  thousand  horns,  and  the  distance  from 
one  horn  to  another  could  not  be  traversed  in  five 
hundred  years.  These  mountains  are  the  abode  of 
giants,  fairies  and  peris,  while  their  life-giving  foun- 

1  Anderson— Norse  Mythology,  pp.  104-484. 

2  Hindu  Literature,  p.  126. 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  91 

tains  confer  immortality  upon  those  who  taste  of  their 
waters. 

The    highest  portion    of  the  emerald   range   is   the 
Alborz,1  where  the  fabled  Simurgh  builds  her  colossal 
nest  of  sandal  wood,  and  the    woven  branches  of    aloe 
and    myrtle    trees.      Mount    Alborz    is    represented    as 
standing    upon    the   earth,  while    her  crown   of    light 
reposes    in    the    region    far    beyond  the    stars.      It   is 
Hara-Berezaita    (the   lofty    mountain) — the    sphere    of 
endless  light,  where  the   supreme   god  of   Persian   my- 
thology dwells  in  his  own  temple  which  is  the  "abode 
of  song."     This  is   the    "Mother   of  Mountains"    and 
from  it   have  grown  all  the   heights  that   stand   upon 
the  earth ;   it  is  the  fabled   center  of    the    world,  and 
around   it  the  sun,   moon  and  stars    revolve.     Hence, 
in  the  Vendldad 2  we  find  the  following  hymn  : 
"  Up,  rise  and  roll  along,  thou  swift  horsed   sun, 
Above  Hara-Berezaita  and  produce  light  for  the  world. 
Up,   rise   up,  thou   moon — 
Rise  up,  ye  stars,  rise  up  above  Hara-Berezaita 
And  produce  light  for  the  world, 
And  mayest  thou,    0    man,   rise  up    along    the  path 

made  by  Mazda— 
Along  the  way  made  by  the  gods, 
The  watery   way   they   opened." 

RIVERS. 

In  the  mythology  of  every  people  we  find  mystic 
rivers  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  their  divini- 

i  Alborz,  being  changed  into  Elburz,  became  the  name  of  a  mountain 
range  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Caspian  sea,  and  Mount  Demavend, 
its  highest  peak,  is  looked  upon  as  the  home  of  the  Simurgh,  and  it  is 
also  the  scene  of  many  mythical  adventures. 


92  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

ties.  They  are  winding  everywhere  through  the 
enchanted  land  of  fable.  Often  born  in  the  high- 
lands of  the  celestial  mountains,  they  are  represented 
as  coming  down  to  earth  with  the  glint  of  the  sun- 
light on  their  waves.  The  great  river  of  Egypt, 
which  is  supposed  to  give  life  to  the  gods  as  well 
as  men,  is  thus  fabled  to  have  sprung  from  the 
mountains  of  the  sky,  and  a  "Hymn  to  the  Nile," 
recorded  on  a  clay  tablet,  begins  with  the  words : 

"  Adoration   to  the  Nile ! 
Hail  to  thee,    0   Nile ! 
Who  comest   to  give   life  to  Egypt ! 
Thou  givest  the  earth  to  drink,  inexhaustible  one  ! 
Thou   descend est  from  the  sky."1 

In  Greek  mythology,  we  find  the  river  ocean 
flowing  around  the  earth,  with  its  calm  current  un- 
broken by  storm,  and  unswerved  by  the  angry  tem- 
pest. The  sea,  with  her  sun-kissed  billows,  received 
her  waters  from  this  unfailing  fountain,  and  far  be- 
yond the  northern  mountains,  where  the  "golden 
gardens"  gleamed  in  the  sunlight  and  the  winds  were 
rocked  to  sleep,  there  lived  a  happy  people,  where 
sorrow  could  not  enter  and  death  would  never  come. 

Among  the  Hindus,  the  sacred  Ganges  flowed  at 
first  only  through  the  blue  fields  of  heaven,  and  fell 
to  the  earth  from  the  divine  feet  of  Vishnu  : 

"  And   white  foam   clouds  and  silver  spray 

Were  wildly  tossed  on  high, 
Like  swans  that  urge  their  homeward  way 
*  .  Across  the  autumn  sky." 

i  Trans,  by  Paul  Guieysse.    Rec.  of  P.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  48.     The  belief  in 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  93 

The  Norseman  also  sings  of  heavenly  rivers,  as 
well  as-  the  Ifiug,  which  flows  in  a  never-freezing 
current  between  the  world  of  men  and  the  world  of 
gods  ;  he  sings,  too,  of  the  river  Gyoll,  which  flows 
nearest  to  the  gates  of  Hel,1  and  over  whose  golden 
bridge  the  countless  bands  of  the  dead  are  passing. 

In  Persian  mythology  there  is  a  crystal  stream 
which  gushes  from  a  golden  precipice  of  the  mythical 
mountain  and  descends  to  the  earth  from  the  heavens, 
as  does  the  celestial  Ganga  of  the  Hindus.  This  is 
the  heavenly  spring  from  which  all  the  waters  of 
the  earth  come  down.  ...  It  is  the  Ardvi  Sura 
Anahita  which  ever  flows  in  a  life-giving  current, 
bringing  blessings  unto  man  and  receiving  in  return 
the  sacrifices  of  the  material  world. 

This  river  has  a  thousand  cells  and  a  thousand 
channels,  and  each  of  these  extend  as  far  as  a 
swiftly  mounted  horseman  can  ride  in  forty  days ;  in 
each  channel  there  stands  a  palace  gleaming  with 
an  hundred  windows  and  a  thousand  columns ;  these 
palaces  are  surrounded  with  ten  thousand  balconies 
founded  in  the  distant  channels  of  the  river,  and 
within  their  courts  are  luxurious  beds,  "  well  scented 
and  covered  with  pillows."  In  the  golden  ravines 
around  these  palace  halls  are  the  wondrous  fountains 
of  the  Ardvi  Sura  Anahita,  and  the  stream  rushes 
down  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain  with  a  vol- 
ume greater  than  all  the  rivers  of  earth,  and  falls 
into  the  bosom  of  the  celestial  sea  that  lies  at  the 
foot  of  the  Hara-Berezaita.  When  the  waters  of 

the  celestial  origin  of  the  Nile  survived  in  Egypt  as  lately  as  the  time  of 
Joinville.    (Histoire  de  Saint   Louis,  Chap.  II.) 

i  Hel,  the  world  of  the  dead,  irrespective  of  character. 


94  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

the  river  fall  into  the  Vouru-Kasha,  the  waves  of 
the  sea  boil  over  the  shores,  and  the  billows  chant 
a  song  of  welcome. 

This  celestial  spring,  with  its  mighty  torrent  of 
waters,  is  personified  as  a  beautiful  goddess1— a  maiden 
tall  and  shapely,  who  is  born  of  a  glorious  race.  She 
is  stately  and  noble,  strong  as  the  current  of  a  mighty 
river,  and  pure  as  the  snows  that  lie  on  the  moun- 
tain's crown.  Her  beautiful  arms  are  white  and  thick, 
her  hair  is  long  and  luxuriant,  for  she  is  large  and 
comely,  radiant  with  the  glory  of  a  perfect  woman- 
hood. 

This  glorious  maid  of  the  mountain  has  four  white 
horses,  which  were  made  for  her  by  Ahura  Mazda; 
one  is  the  snow,  and  one  is  the  wind,  while  the  others 
are  the  rain  and  the  cloud;  thus  it  happens  that  ever 
upon  the  earth  it  is  snowing,  or  the  rain  is  some- 
where coming  down  to  gladden  the  flowers  with  re- 
freshing touch. 

The  beautiful  goddess  springs  from  a  golden  fissure 
in  the  highest  peak,  and  mounting  her  chariot  draws 
the  reins  above  her  white  steeds  and  drives  them  down 
the  steep  incline,  which  is  a  thousand  times  the  height 
of  a  man,  and  continual  sacrifice  is  offered  to  her 
brightness  and  glory. 

Clothed  with  a  golden  mantle  and  wearing  a  crown 
radiant  with  the  light  of  an  hundred  gems,  she  comes 

i  The  first  record  of  the  worship  of  Ardvi  Sura  is  in  a  cuneiform  in- 
scription by  Artaxerxes  Mnemon  (404-361),  in  which  her  name  is  corrupted 
into  Anahata.  Artaxerxes  Mnemon  appears  to  have  been  an  eager  pro- 
moter of  her  worship,  as  he  is  said  to  have  first  erected  the  statues  of 
Venus-Anahita  in  Babylon,  Suza,  and  Ecbatana,  and  to  have  taught  her 
worship  to  the  Persians,  the  Bactrians,  and  the  people  of  Damas  and 
Sardes  (Clemens  Alexandrians,  Protrept.  5,  on  the  authority  of  Berosus; 
about  260  B.  C.). 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  95 

dashing  down  the  mountain  side,  thinking  in  her 
heart:  "Who  will  praise  me?  Who  will  offer  me  a 
sacrifice  with  libations  ?" 

The  cloud-sea  represents  the  "dewy  treasures"  of 
the  Hindus — the  rains  which  are  held  in  the  reluctant 
cloud,  and  only  drawn  therefrom  by  the  lightning 
bolts  of  Indra,  who  is  assisted  in  the  battle  by  the 
Maruts  when  they  "harness  their  deer  for  victory/'1 
The  Persian  Vendidad  represents  a  continual  inter- 
change between  the  waters  of  the  earth  and  sky. 

"As  the   Vouru-Kasha   is  the   gathering  place  of  the 

waters 
Rise  up,  go  up  the  aerial  way  and  go  down  upon  the 

earth     .     .     . 

The  large  river  that  is  known  afar 
That  is  as  large  as  all  the  waters  of  earth 
Runs  from  the  height  down  to  the  sea,  Vouru-Kasha.  "* 

MYTHICAL   BIRDS. 

Birds  have  always  held  a  prominent  place  in  the 
various  mythologies.  Among  the  Assyrians,  the  zu  or 
vulture  was  the  symbol  of  the  "god  of  the  storm- 
cloud,"  who  was  believed  to  have  stolen  the  laws  and 
attributes  of  Bel  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  and  to 
have  been  punished  for  the  theft  by  transformation 
into  a  vulture.3 

In  Egyptian  mythology,  the  tablets  represent  Isis  as 
a  bird.  "  For  she  is  Isis,  the  charmer,  the  avenger 
of  her  brother,  who  seeks  him  without  failing,  who 
traverses  the  earth  with  lamentations,  without  resting 

i  Hindu  Literature,  p.  39.  2  Vendidad,  xxi. 

s  Sayce,  Lee.  Rel.  Babylonians,  pp.  293-299. 


96  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

before  she  has  found  him — creating  the  light  with  her 
feathers,  producing  the  wind  with  her  wings,  cele- 
brating the  sacred  dances,  and  depositing  her  brother 
in  the  tomb  .  .  .  raising  the  remains  of  the  god, 
with  immovable  heart  ...  she  makes  him  grow, 
his  arm  becomes  strong  in  the  great  dwelling. "l 

In  the  Hindu  poem  of  the  Ramayana,  during  the 
banishment  of  the  innocent  and  beautiful  Sita,  the 
pitying  birds  dipped  their  pinions  in  the  sacred  waters 
of  the  Ganges,  and  fanned  her  feverish  face,  that  she 
might  not  faint  with  the  heat.2  In  the  same  poem  we 
have  also  descriptions  of  Garuda,  the  eagle-steed  of 
Vishnu,  and  Sampati,  the  sacred  vulture,  who  gave  in- 
formation concerning  the  demon  king  that  carried 
away  the  beautiful  princess.  Hindu  mythology  also 
contains  "the  celestial  birds,"  who  were  acquainted 
with  right  and  wrong,  and  who,  in  one  of  the  Pura- 
nas  answered  the  questions  of  the  sages,  and  also  gave 
an  account  of  the  creation. 

In  northern  Europe  we  find  a  wondrous  eagle,  who 
sits  amongst  the  branches  of  the  Ygdrasil — that  beau- 
tiful tree  of  Norse  mythology,  whose  three  great  roots 
strike  downward  among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  Scandina- 
vians, and  Germans.  This  great  ash  tree  spreads  its 
life-giving  arms  through  the  heavens,  and  on  the  top- 
most bough  is  the  eagle  "who  knows  many  things/' 
and  between  his  eyes  sits  the  keen-eyed  hawk,  Vedfol- 
ner.3 

We  have  also  the    Griffin   of    chivalry,  the  fabulous 

iHymn  to  Osiris  on  the  stele  of  Amon-em-ha.  Translated  by  D. 
Mallet.  Rec.  of  P.,  IV,  21. 

2  Hindu  Literature,  p.  267. 

3  Anderson— Norse  Mythology,  pp.  75-190. 


PERSIAN    MYTHOLOGY.  97 

monster,  half  bird  and  half  lion,  that  protected  the 
gold  of  the  Hyperborean  regions  from  the  one-eyed 
Arimaspians,  and  the  Phoenix  of  Egyptian  fable — the 
bird  of  gold  and  crimson  plumage,  that  is  burned 
upon  her  nest  of  spices  every  thousand  years,  and  as 
often  springs  to  life  from  her  ashes.  The  Turks  have 
their  Kerkes,  and  the  Japanese  their  Kirni,  while 
China  exhibits  a  nondescript  dragon,  which  is  a  com- 
bination of  bird  and  reptile.  In  the  Greek  Iliad  we 
have  the  imperial  bird  of  Jove — "  Strong  sovereign  of 
the  plumy  race"  bearing  a  signal  from  the  god. 
Among  the  Persian  myths  we  find  the  Karmak,  a 
gigantic  bird  "  which  overshadowed  the  earth,  and 
kept  off  the  rain  until  the  rivers  were  dried  up." 
And  the  law  was  brought  to  the  Var  of  Yima  by  the 
bird  Karsipta  who  recites  the  Avesta  in  the  language 
of  birds. 

The  raven  was  sacred  to  Apollo,  and  in  Persia  the 
priests  of  the  sun  were  named  ravens.  In  the  Avesta 
this  bird  is  called  "the  swiftest  of  all — the  highest  of 
the  flying  creatures  ...  he  alone  of  all  living 
things — he  or  none — overtakes  the  flight  of  an  arrow, 
however  well  it  has  been  shot;  he  grazes  in  the  hid- 
den ways  of  the  mountains,  he  grazes  in  the  depths 
of  the  vales,  he  grazes  on  the  summit  of  the  trees 
listening  to  the  voices  of  the  birds/'1  Again  it  is 
said  of  the  Varengana  or  raven:  "Take  thou  a  feather 
of  that  bird,  with  that  feather  thou  shalt  rub  thine 
own  body — with  that  feather  thou  shalt  curse  thine  . 
enemies ;  if  a  man  holds  a  bone  of  that  strong 
bird,  no  one  can  smite  or  turn  to  flight  that  fortu- 

i  Bahram  Vast,  vil. 


98  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

nate  man.  The  feather  of  that  bird  of  birds  brings 
him  help,  it  brings  unto  him  the  homage  of  men,  it 
maintains  him  in  glory."1  It  is  said  that  the  glory 
departed  from  Yima  three  times  in  the  shape  of  a 
raven,  and  the  raven  is  also  one  of  the  incarnations 
of  the  genius  of  Victory. 

The  Saena,  which,  in  later  literature,  is  the  Sinamru 
or  Slmurgh,  occupies  an  important  place  in  Persian 
mythology.  His  resting  place  is  on  the  Jad-besh,  or 
the  tree  of  the  eagle;  this  tree  is  the  bearer  of  all 
seeds,  and  when  the  Slmurgh  leaves  it  in  his  flight,  a 
thousand  twigs  will  shoot  from  the  tree,  and  when  he 
returns  and  alights  thereon,  he  breaks  off  the  thousand 
twigs,  and  sheds  the  seed  from  them.  Then  the  bird 
Chanmrosh  who  always  sits  near,  watching  the  tree, 
will  collect  the  seed  which  falls  from  the  Jad-besh,  or 
tree  of  all  seeds,  and  carry  it  to  the  fountain  where 
Tishtar  (or  Tistrya)  receives  the  waters,  so  that  Tish- 
tar  may  gather  the  seed  of  all  kinds  with  the  waters, 
and  may  shower  it  down  upon  the  world  with  the 
rain.2 

The  Slmurgh  was  the  son  of  Ahum-stut,  who  was 
perhaps  "the  holy  falcon — praiser  of  the  lord."  He 
builds  his  nest  amidst  the  cliffs  of  Mount  Alborz,  and 
the  gigantic  structure  is  woven  with  the  branches  of 
the  aloe  and  the  fragrant  sandal-wood.  Around  it 
gleam  the  white  cliffs  in  the  sunlight,  and  precious 
stones  lie  beneath  it,  for  it  is  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
man.  The  Slmurgh  became,  in  later  literature,  a 
mythical  incarnation  of  supreme  wisdom. 

1  Bahrain  Yast,  xiii. 

2  Minokhirad— 62  and  37.    Trans,  by  West 


PERSIAN  MYTHOLOGY.  99 

AHURA-MAZDA. 

This  deity  is  represented  as  the  supreme  god  of 
the  Persians,  the  creator  of  the  other  gods,  and  the 
ruler  of  them  all. 

The  word  Ahura  appears  to  have  much  kinship 
with  Asura,  of  the  Hindu  mythology.  In  the  early 
portions  of  the  Rig-veda  this  word  has  a  good  mean- 
ing, but  in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  work  the 
Asura  is  represented  as  a  black  demon,  who  com- 
mitted fearful  devastation  until  he  was  defeated  by 
Indra.  Among  the  Persians,  Asura,  or  Ahura  is  pic- 
tured as  the  sky-god,  who  is  represented  among  the 
Hindus  as  Varuna,  who  looks  down  from  heaven 
with  his  countless  starry  eyes  and  "  wields  the  uni- 
verse as  the  gamesters  handle  dice."  l 

The  heaven  of  Ahura-Mazda  surrounds  the  high- 
est peaks  of  the  "Lofty  Mountain"  in  the  upper 
air,  and  it  is  called  the  "Abode  of  Song."  It  is 
said  "  the  maker  Ahura-Mazda  has  built  a  dwelling 
on  the  Hara-Berezaita,  the  bright  mountain  around 
which  the  daily  stars  revolve.  .  .  .  With  his  arms 
lifted  up  towards  immortality,  Mithra,  the  lord  of 
wide  pastures,  drives  forward  a  beautiful  chariot, 
wrought  by  Ahura-Mazda  and  inlaid  with  stars."2 

The  attributes  of  Ahriman,  the  serpent,  or  evil 
principle,  became  personified,  and  the  various  forms 
of  falsehood,  darkness  and  death  became  abstract 
demons.  So,  also,  Ahura-Mazda  was  afterward  wor- 
shipped as  a  multitude  of  deities,  and  thus  it  hap- 
pened that  victory,  benevolence,  sovereignty,  and  even 

i  Rig-veda  Sanhita— Wilson's  Trans.,  Vol.  V,  p.  102 
*  Yast,  x 


100  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

health  were  each  worshipped  as  a  separate  divinity, 
and  gathered  together  in  the  heavenly  councils  as  a 
band  of  Yazatas  or  angels.  These  are  numbered  by 
thousands,  but  the  one  demanding  the  greatest  rev- 
erence is 

ATAR. 

This  is  the  god  of  fire.  He  was  called  the  "most 
great  Yazata,"  and  as  such  he  commanded  the  undy- 
ing worship  of  the  Persian  devotee. 

The  first  duty  of  each  Pars!  householder  was  to 
cherish  the  sacred  fire  upon  his  own  hearth,  feed- 
ing it  only  with  delicate  bits  of  fragrant  sandal  wood, 
while  the  fires  in  the  temples  were  committed  to 
the  care  of  the  priests.  Atar  is  the  Persian  form  of 
the  Hindu  Agni,  the  guardian  of  the  home,  and  the 
symbol  of  social  union. 

The  cypress  tree  was  planted  in  front  of  their  fire 
temples,  and  when  it  had  reached  a  towering  height, 
it  was  surrounded  by  a  gilded  palace  like  a  sheath 
of  flame,1  while  more  simple  altars  arose  from  their 
mountain  tops  and  blazed  with  the  sacred  symbol. 

THE   STORM    GOD. 

The  Persian  myth  of  the  struggle  of  Tistrya  with 
Apaosha,  the  drouth  fiend,  in  order  to  obtain  rain, 
is  merely  another  form  of  the  battle  of  the  elements 
in  the  Eig-veda,  when  Indra  rides  forth  to  the  con- 
flict and  shoots  his  arrows  into  the  gathering  clouds. 

The  early  idolaters  worshipped  the  host  of  heaven, 
and  from  this  doubtless  arose  the  worship  of  the 
star  Sirius  as  the  storm  god — Tistrya.  The  rising  of 

i  See  the  Bundehesh. 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  101 

this  star  to  a  prominent  position  marks  the  period 
of  the  ever  welcome  rains,  when  the  parched  earth 
drinks  in  the  refreshing  flood, 'and  the  flowers  spring 
from  the  soil. 

The  dog-days  are  supposed  to  represent  the  time 
of  Tistrya's  great  conflict  with  Apaosha,  and  the  bat- 
tle is  long  and  closely  contested  before  he  conquers 
his  foe. 

The  storm  god  comes  into  the  arena  in  three 
different  forms ;  he  first  attacks  the  foe  in  the  form 
of  a  beautiful  youth,  then  as  a  bull  with  golden 
horns,  and  at  last  as  a  white  horse  with  golden 
caparison  and  golden  ears.  The  drouth  fiend  is  rep- 
resented as  a  black  horse,  and  "  They  meet  together 
hoof  against  hoof,  they  fight  for  three  days  and  three 
nights,  and  then  the  Deva1  proves  too  strong  for 
bright  and  glorious  Tistrya;  he  overcomes  him." 
Tistrya  then  flees  from  the  sea  and  cries  out  :  "  Oh 
Ahura-Mazda,  men  do  not  worship  me  with  sacri- 
fice and  praise,  invoking  me  by  my  own  name ; 
should  they  worship  me  with  sacrifice  and  praise, 
invoking  me  by  my  own  name  as  the  other  Yazatas 
are  invoked,  they  would  bring  me  the  strength  of  ten 
horses,  of  ten  camels,  ten  bulls,  ten  mountains  and 
ten  rivers." 

Ahura  then  offers  him  a  sacrifice,  in  which  he  is 
invoked  by  his  own  name,  and  which  gives  him  the 
strength  of  ten  horses,  of  ten  camels,  ten  bulls,  ten 
mountains  and  ten  rivers,  whereupon  Tistrya  returns 
to  the  conflict,  and  Apaosha  flies  before  him.  The 
white  horse  being  victorious,  the  copious  rains  come 

1  This  word  is  frequently  spelled  Daeva. 


102  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

down,  glad  brooks  spring  from  the  rocky  hillsides — 
they  come  with  pearly  sandaled  feet,  laden  with  tove 
and  mercy  to  the  sun-parched  plain;  hence  the  fol- 
lowing hymn  : 

"  We  sacrifice  unto  Tistyra,  the  bright  and  glorious 
star, 

For  whom  the  longing  flocks  and  herds  and  men 
are  looking  forward 

When  shall  we  see  him  rise  up,  the  bright  and 
glorious  star  Tistrya  .....' 

For  whom  long  the  standing  waters  and  the  run- 
ning spring  waters, 

The  stream  waters  and   the  rain  waters  ? 

When  will  the  springs  with  a  flow  run  to  the  beau- 
tiful places  and  fields  ? 1 

And  to  the  roots  of  the  plants  that  they  may  grow 
with  a  powerful  growth  ?" 

YIMA. 

The  Persian  god  of  death  is  scarcely  changed 
from  the  Hindu  Yama,  who  is  "the  king  of  death 
and  the  judge  of  the  dead/'  Among  the  Hindus, 
however,  he  appears  as  the  first  of  men  who  died, 
while  among  the  Persians  he  has  many  ancestors. 
He  offered  sacrifices  upon  the  summit  of  "  the  beau- 
tiful mountain/'  and  prayed  the  gods  to  grant  him 
power  and  dominion.  Thus  he  became  a  king  over 
men  and  even  over  the  Devas.  As  the  regions  of 
Pluto  were  guarded  by  the  three-headed  dog  Cerberus, 
and  the  path  of  Yama  was  watched  by  two  terrible 
dogs  of  the  "  four-eyed  tawny  breed  of  Sarama," 

i  Yast,  viii. 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  103 

so  also  the  souls  of  good  men  are  defended  from 
the  howling  and  pursuing  demons,  by  the  dogs  that 
guard 

THE    CHItfVAT    BRIDGE. 

The  Chinvat1  or  _ffmvad  bridge  reaches  to  Mount 
Alborz,  and  it  is  also  called  the  "  Bridge  of  the 
Gatherer/'  over  which  the  souls  of  the  righteous 
pass  easily  into  the  abodes  of  bliss,  while  the  wicked 
fall  from  it  into  the  den  of  falsehood  and  iniquity. 

The  Mohammedans  call  it  the  Al-Sirat,  and  it  is 
represented  in  the  Koran  as  being  finer  than  the 
thread  of  a  famished  spider  and  sharper  than  a 
two-edged  sword. 

More  beautiful  by  far  is  the  Bi-frost,  or  rainbow 
arch  of  the  Norseman — the  bridge  between  heaven 
and  earth,  which  was  also  borrowed  from  Chaldea : 

"A  link  that  binds  us  to  the   skies 
A  bridge  of  rainbows  thrown  across 
The  gulf  of  tears  and  sighs." 

And  every  day  the  gods  come  down  to  the  judg- 
ment hall,  of  the  Udar  fountain,  at  the  roots  of 
the  great  ash  tree  and  ride  back  on  heavenly  steeds 
across  the  bridge  of  many  hues. 

MITHRA. 

As  fire  is  the  favorite  symbol  of  the  Persian,  so 
the  sun-gods  are  their  most  important  deities,  and  ol 
these  Mithra  stands  at  the  head.  One  of  the  San- 
skrit names  for  the  sun  is  Mitra,  and  the  Persian 

i  Chinvat,  the  popular  orthography  of  this  word,  is  adopted  as  it  repre- 
sents the  pronunciation. 


104  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

form  of  the  word  retains  its  full  significance,  as  the 
pure  light  of  day.  The  sun  is  never  without  his 
shrine,  and  he  is  also  represented  in  the  human  form. 
His  terrible  power,  especially  in  tropical  climes,  could 
not  fail  to  be  recognized,  and  hence  the  Persian  swore 
by  the  sun,  while  the  temples  and  images  consecrated 
to  this  god  of  day  arose  in  every  part  of  the  laud. 
Persian  decrees  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  de- 
manded the  highest  worship  for  the  sun  itself,  while 
fire  and  water  should  receive  inferior  service.  Chris- 
tians were  persecuted  for  refusing  to  perform  these 
services  in  Armenia1  and  the  Roman  Emperor  Julian 
centered  his  apostasy  in  the  philosophy  which  per- 
mitted him  to  call  the  sun  the  living  image  of  God 
and  even  God  himself.2 

Mithra  is  represented  in  the  Avesta  as  riding  across 
the  broad  arch  of  heaven,  his  chariot  drawn  by  milk- 
white  steeds  whose  feet  are  shod  with  gold  and  sil- 
ver, while  the  god  himself  wears  a  golden  helmet 
and  a  silver  breastplate.  He  is  represented  as  "  The 
first  of  the  heavenly  gods  who  reaches  over  Hara, 
who,  foremost  in  battle  array,  takes  hold  of  the 
summits,  and  from  thence  looks  with  a  beneficent 
eye  over  the  abodes  of  the  Aryans,  where  the  valiant 
chiefs  draw  up  their  many  troops  in  array;  where 
the  high  mountains,  rich  in  pastures  and  waters, 
yield  plenty  to  the  cattle ;  where  the  deep  lakes  with 
salt  water  stands ;  where  the  wide  flowing  rivers 
swell  and  hurry.  .  .  .  Four  stallions  draw  that 
chariot,  all  of  the  same  white  color,  living  on  heav- 

1  History  of  Vartan  by  Elisaeus  (Newman's  trans.),  p.  9. 

2  Gibbon,  Chap.  23. 


PERSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  105 

enly  food  and  undying.  .  .  .  The  hoofs  of  their 
fore  feet  are  shod  with  gold,  the  hoofs  of  their  hind 
feet  are  shod  with  silver."1 

This  is  the  Persian  picture  of  the  Hindu  myth, 
where  the  god  of  day  is  represented  as  coming  out 
of  the  crimson  chambers  of  the  east,  in  his  fiery 
car,  while  his  white  steeds  are  led  by  the  fair  god- 
dess of  the  morning,  wearing  her  garments  of  silver 
and  changeful  opal  fire.2 

The  mythology  of  Mazdeism  is  very  rich  with 
demons,  many  classes  of  which  belong  to  the  Indo- 
Iranian  period.  The  Vedic  Yatus  are  found  un- 
changed in  the  Avesta,  and  these  are  demons  who 
can  assume  any  form  they  choose.  The  Pairikas  in 
the  oldest  Avesta  are  the  fiendish  females,  who  rob 
the  gods  and  men  of  the  heavenly  waters.  They 
hover  between  heaven  and  earth  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea  Vouru-Kasha,  to  keep  off  the  rain  floods,  working 
in  harmony  with  Apaosha,  the  drouth  fiend.  There 
are  many  other  female  demons,  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  describe,  as  their  characteristics  are  most  revolting. 

There  is  also  a  host  of  storm  fiends,  called  "the 
running  ones"  on  account  of  the  headlong  course  of 
the  fiends  in  a  storm  —  "the  onsets  of  the  wounding 
crew."  The  Devas  represent  demons  which  belong  to 
the  Indo-European  mythology,  and  the  term  originally 
meant  "the  gods  in  heaven."  When  they  were  con- 
verted into  evil  spirits  they  became  "the  fiends  in 
the  heavens"  or  the  fiends  who  assail  the  sky,  but 
they  afterwards  became  the  demons  of  lust  and  doubt. 
Death  gave  rise  to  several  abstractions,  such  as  Sauru, 

lYast,  x.  2  Hindu  Literature,  p.  27. 


106  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

which  was  identical  in  meaning  as  well  as  name  with 
the  Vedic  Sara,  "the  arrow,"  a  personification  of  the 
arrow  of  death,  as  a  god-like  being.  The  same  idea 
is  conveyed  by  Isus,  the  self-moving  arrow,  a  designa- 
tion which  is  perhaps  accounted  for  from  the  fact 
that  Saru,  in  India,  before  becoming  the  arrow  of 
death,  was  the  arrow  of  lightning,  with  which  the 
god  killed  his  foe.  The  god  of  death  in  another  form 
becomes  "the  bone  divider"  who,  like  the  Yama  of 
the  Maha-bharata,  holds  a  noose  around  the  neck  of 
all  living  creatures.  In  the  conflict  between  gods  and 
fiends  he  takes  an  active  part  through  the  sacrifice. 
The  sacrifice  is  more  than  an  act  of  worship,  it  is  an 
act  of  assistance  to  the  gods.  Gods,  like  men,  need 
drink  and  food  to  be  strong;  like  men,  they  need 
praise  and  encouragement  in  order  to  be  brave;  when 
not  strengthened  by  the  sacrifice  they  fly  before  their 
foes. 

Sraosha  is  the  priest-god,  he  first  tied  the  sticks 
into  bundles  and  offered  up  sacrifice  to  Ahura; 
he  first  sang  the  holy  hymns  and  thrice  each  day 
and  night  he  smites  the  demon  crew  with  his  up- 
lifted club,  and  thus  protects  the  world  of  the  liv- 
ing from  the  terrors  of  the  night,  when  the  fiends 
rush  upon  the  earth ;  it  is  he  who  protects  the  dead 
from  the  terrors  of  death,  from  the  assault  of  Ahri- 
man.  It  will  be  through  a  sacrifice  performed  by 
Ormazd  and  Sraosha  that  Ahriman  will  finally  be 
vanquished.  A  number  of  divinities  sprang  from  the 
hearth  of  the  altar,  most  of  them  having  existed 
during  the  Indo-Iranian  period.  Piety,  who  every  day 
brings  her  offerings  and  prayers  to  the  altar,  was 


PEBSIAN   MYTHOLOGY.  107 

worshipped  in  the  Vedas  as  Aramati,  the  goddess 
who  every  morning  and  evening,  being  anointed 
with  sacred  butter,  offers  herself  up  to  Agni.  She 
was  praised  in  the  Avesta  as  an  abstract  genius,  but 
there  are  yet  a  few  practices  which  preserve  the  evi- 
dent traces  of  the  old  myths  in  relation  to  her 
union  with  Atar,  the  fire-god.  The  riches  that  go  up 
to  heaven  in  the  offerings  of  man,  and  come  down  to 
earth  in  the  gifts  of  the  gods,  were  deified  as  Rata, 
the  gift,  Ashi,  the  felicity,  and  more  vividly  in 
Parendi,  the  keeper  of  treasures,  who  comes  on  a 
sounding  chariot,  a  sister  to  the  Vedic  Puramdhi. 

Thus  we  have  seen  the  fabulous  "  world  mountain  " 
of  early  Babylonia  pervading  the  mythologies  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  taking  the  form  of  the  star-crowned 
Olympus  on  the  ^Egean  sea,  and  of  Meru,  with  her 
fadeless  flowers,  in  the  valleys  of  India.  In  northern 
Europe  it  is  represented  by  the  Nida  mountains  with 
their  golden  palaces,  and  in  Persia  by  the  beautiful 
Hara  with  her  crown  of  living  light. 

The  Chaldean  river  of  death,  Datilla,  flows  also 
through  the  realms  of  Grecia  under  the  name  of  Styx, 
and  in  the  regions  of  the  north  it  becomes  the  Ifing, 
and  also  the  Gyoll.  Again  the  mythical  river  seems 
to  mount  upward,  and  like  the  heavenly  Nile,  the 
Ganges  springs  from  celestial  heights  and  flows 
through  the  starry  highlands  of  heaven,  while  the 
silvery  torrents  of  the  Persian  stream  come  pouring 
down  from  the  white  summit  of  the  Hara-Berezaita. 

The  early  Baal,  with  all  the  unspeakable  abomina- 
tions attending  his  worship,  becomes  refined  in  the 
form  of  Zeus  or  Jove,  who  hurls  his  lightnings  from 


108  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  brow  of  Olympus,  and  in  the  Ahura-Mazda  of  the 
Persians,  whose  throne  is  "  the  lofty  mountain." 
Tammuz  and  Chemosh,  whose  hideous  images  called 
forth  the  contempt  of  the  prophets,  appear  in  the 
Persian  pantheon  as  Mithra  with  his  glittering  steeds; 
Ashtaroth  of  Sidon,  and  Diana  of  Ephesus,  lay  aside 
their  revolting  sensuality,  and  come  forth  as  the 
chaste  and  strong  Diana  of  Grecian  poetry,  or  the 
fair  goddess  of  the  dawn  among  the  Hindus  and 
Persians.  The  germs  of  European  and  Asiatic  mytho- 
logy are  therefore  found  in  that  cradle  of  idolatry, 
where  the  image-worship  of  Babylonia  received  the 
rebuke  of  the  prophets,  and  where  the  red  altars  of 
Baal  and  Moloch  were  stained  with  human  blood  even 
amidst  the  highest  forms  of  early  art  and  culture. 


DIVISION  II. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ZEND-AVESTA. 

DERIVATION  AND  LANGUAGE— DIVISIONS — AGE  OF  THE 
ZEND-AVESTA  —  MANUSCRIPTS  —  ZARATHUSTRA  —  THE 
EARLY  PARSIS — THE  MODERN  PARSIS. 

WE  use  the  ordinary  form  of  the  word,  Zend- 
Avesta,  for  though  some  Orientalists  claim 
that  it  should  be  called  the  Avesta-Zend,  it  is  an 
open  question  whether  this  is  the  original  and  only 
correct  term.  According  to  the  Parsls,  A  vesta  means 
the  sacred  text,  and  Zend  its  Pahlavi  translation,  but 
in  the  Pahlavi  translations  themselves,  the  original 
work  is  called  the  Avesta-Zend,  although  there  is  no 
reason  given  for  this  course.  Neither  the  word  Avesta 
nor  Zend  occurs  in  the  original  Zend  texts.  The  word 
Avesta,  however,  seems  to  be  the  Sanskrit  avastha, 
meaning  -'authorized  text/'  while  Max  Muller1  claims 
that  the  name  Zend  was  originally  a  corruption  of  the 
Sanskrit  word  .ZTAandas,  or  "metrical  language,"  which 

i  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  82. 
109 


110  PERSIAN   LITERATUBE. 

is  a  name  given  by  the  Brahmans  to  the  hymns  of 
the  Veda.  The  word  Zend,  or  Zand,  is  also  used  to 
designate  the  language1  in  which  the  greater  part  of 
the  Avesta  is  written. 

In  relation  to  its  antiquity,  the  Zend  ranks  next  to 
the  Sanskrit,  and  such  authorities  as  Westergaard  and 
Spiegel,  while  differing  upon  many  points,  agree  in 
considering  the  Veda  the  safest  key  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  Avesta.  Many  of  the  gods  which  are 
unknown  to  any  of  the  Indo-European  nations  are 
worshipped  under  the  same  name  in  Sanskrit  and  in 
Zend,  and  indeed  many  of  the  gods  of  the  Zoroastriaus 
seem  to  be  mere  reflections  of  the  more  primitive  gods 
of  the  Veda,  but  at  times  the  tendency  to  monotheism 
in  the  Zoroastrian  religions  would  appear  to  be  a  sol- 
emn protest  against  the  worship  of  all  the  powers  of 
nature  which  is  found  in  the  Veda.  Although  there 
is  much  kinship  between  the  two  tongues,  and  many 
striking  similarities  between  the  gods  of  the  two  my- 
thologies, it  does  not  necessarily  prove  that  portions 
of  the  Zend-Avesta  were  borrowed  from  the  Veda.  It 
does  prove,  however,  that  the  two  works  proceeded 
from  a  common  source  of  Aryan  tradition,  and  it  also 
proves  that  the  Sanskrit  and  the  Zend  continued  to 
live  side  by  side  long  after  they  were  separated  from 
the  common  stock  of  the  Indo-European  tongues. 

There  are  decided  differences  between  the  themes 
of  the  Veda  and  the  Avesta,  but  the  link  which  binds 
them  to  a  common  source  is  never  broken.  Some  Ori- 
entalists claim  that  there  was  a  schism  between  the  two 

i  Prof.  Darmesteter  and  M.  de  Harlez  claim  that  the  Zend  was  the  lan- 
guage of  Aryan  Media. 


T1IE   ZEXD-AVESTA.  Ill 

and  that  the  differences  are  the  result  of  a  religious 
revolution,  while  others  argue  that  there  was  only  a 
long  and  slow  movement  which  led,  by  insensible  de- 
grees, the  vague  dualism  of  the  Indo-Iraniaus  onward 
to  the  sharply  defined  dualism  of  the  Magi.  It  has 
been  clearly  shown  that  the  mythologies  of  Europe 
and  Asia  have  a  common  origin  in  the  idolatry  found 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates;  so  also  the  Veda  and  the 
Zend-Avesta  are  two  great  literary  productions  flowing 
from  the  same  fountain  head,  which  is  found  in  the 
Indo-Iranian  period. 

DIVISIONS. 

The  Zend-Avesta,  or  sacred  books  of  the  Parsis,  is 
really  a  collection  of  various  fragments.  The  first 
part,  which  may  be  called  the  A  vesta  proper,  contains 
the  Vendidad,  the  Visparad  and  the  Yasna.  The 
Vendidad  is  a  compilation  of  religious  lore  and  mytho- 
logical tales,  the  Visparad  is  a  collection  of  litanies 
for  the  sacrifice,  while  the  Yasna,  too,  is  composed  of 
litanies,  but  it  also  contains  five  hymns  or  Gathas 
written  in  a  different  dialect,  which  is  older  than  the 
language  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Avesta. 

These  three  books  are  found  in  manuscripts  in  two 
different  forms.  Sometimes  either  of  them  is  found 
alone  or  accompanied  by  a  Pahlavl  translation,  or  the 
three  are  mingled  together  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  liturgy. 

The  second  portion  of  this  work  is  generally  known 
as  the  Khorda-Avesta,  and  is  composed  of  short  pray- 
ers, which  are  recited  not  only  by  the  priests  but  by  all 
the  faithful,  at  certain  moments  of  the  day,  month  or 


112  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

year,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  different  elements. 
It  is  also  customary  to  include  in  the  Khorda  or 
small  Avesta,  the  Yasts  or  hymns  of  praise  to  the 
several  Izads  or  Yazatas. 

The  sacredness  of  the  A  vesta  is  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent reflected  upon  a  work  called  the  Bundehesh, 
which  was  written  in  Pahlavl,  or  mediaeval  Persian, 
during  the  Sassaniau  age.  According  to  the  Pars! 
traditions  the  bulk  of  Zoroastrian  literature  was  for- 
merly much  greater  than  now.  It  is  claimed  that 
the  Vendidad  is  the  only  survivor  of  the  twenty-one 
Nosks  or  books  which  formed  the  primitive  Avesta 
revealed  by  Ormazd  to  Zoroaster,  and  also  that  the 
eighteen  Yasts  were  originally  thirty  in  number, 
there  having  been  one  for  each  of  the  Izads  who  pre- 
side over  the  thirty  days  of  the  month.  The  classic 
authors  agree  with  the  Parsis  in  the  statement  that 
the  early  books  of  the  Zend-Avesta  were  much  more 
extensive  than  at  present,  the  sacred  literature  of 
the  Zoroastrians  having  suffered  heavy  losses  in  con- 
sequence of  the  ravages  of  the  Persian  empire  by 
Greeks  and  Arabians.  It  appears  from  the  third 
book  of  the  Dinkard  that  at  the  time  of  Alexander's 
invasion  there  were  only  two  complete  copies  of  the 
sacred  books,  one  of  which  was  traced  upon  skins 
in  golden  letters  and  deposited  in  the  royal  archives 
at  Persepolis,  where  it  was  burned  by  Alexander1 
while  the  other  having  been  placed  in  another  treas- 
ury fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks,  and  was  trans- 
lated into  their  language.  The  Arda-Viraf-namak 
mentions  only  one  copy  of  the  Avesta,  which  was  de- 

i  See  page  a). 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  113 

posited  in  the  archives  at  Persepolis  and  burned  by 
Alexander;  it  also  mentions  the  fact  that  he  killed 
many  of  the  priests  and  nobles.  Both  of  these  ac- 
counts were  written,  it  is  true,  long  after  the  events 
they  describe,  so  they  merely  represent  the  tradition 
which  had  been  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
the  next,  but  as  they  were  written  before  the  Arabian 
conquest1  they  cannot  have  confounded  the  ravages 
of  Alexander  with  those  of  the  Mohammedans,  and 
their  accounts  are  freely  confirmed  by  classic  writers.2 

AGE   OF   THE   ZEND-AVESTA. 

There  is  no  data  by  which  the  age  of  the  Zend- 
Avesta  may  be  definitely  determined.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  as  the  Zend  is  later  than  the  Sanskrit, 
so  also  the  Avesta  is  later  than  the  Vedas.  It  is  also 
certain  that  this  work  is  not  the  product  of  any  one 
generation,  as  several  centuries  have  intervened  be- 
tween the  dates  of  the  earliest  and  latest  portions. 
The  Giithas  which  form  the  earliest  portion  of  the 
work,  are  writen  in  the  old  Aryan  metre,  but  the 
favorite  deities  of  the  Hindus  are  absent  from  the 
Gathas,  although  they  reappear  in  various  forms  in 
the  later  portions  of  the  Avesta.  It  is  evident  that 
the  migrating  tribes,  in  consequence  of  their  separa- 
tion from  their  brethren  in  Iran,  soon  became  es- 
tranged from  them,  and  their  most  favored  gods  fell 
slowly  into  neglect  or  disfavor.  Considerable  time 

i  Hang's  Rel.  of  Parsis.  p.  123. 

UDiodorus  (xvii,  72)  and  Curtius  (v.  7)  declare  that  Alexander  burned 
the  citadel  and  royal  palace  at  Persepolis  in  a  drunken  frenzy  at  the  in- 
stigation of  the  Athenian  courtezan  Thais,  and  in  revenge  for  the  detrac- 
tion of  the  Greek  temple  by  Xerxes.  Arrian  (Rxped.  Alex.,  iii,  18)  also 
speaks  of  his  burning  the  royal  palace  of  the  Persians. 


114  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

must  have  been  required  for  the  accomplishment  of  so 
great  a  change.  The  oldest  portions  of  the  Avesta  may 
therefore  fall  a  few  centuries  this  side  of  the  hymns 
of  the  Rig-veda,  while  the  oldest  portions  of  the  later 
Avesta  may  be  placed  at  a  period  somewhat  later  than 
Darius.1  We  have  a  right  to  suppose  that  the  hymns 
and  other  portions  of  the  Avesta  which  were  then  in 
existence  were  gathered  together  and  committed  to 
writing  about  the  time  of  Darius,  and  according  to 
Dr.  Oppert's  rendering  of  the  Behistun  inscription, 
the  Persian  king  says:  "By  the  grace  of  Ormazd,  I 
have  made  the  writings  for  others  in  the  Aryan  lan- 
guage, which  was  not  done  before ;  and  the  text  of 
the  law  and  the  collection.  ...  I  made  and  wrote, 
and  I  sent  abroad  ;  then  the  old  writings  among  all 
countries  I  restored  for  the  sake  of  the  people."2 
Thus  Darius  claims  to  have  restored  the  writings  that 
had  been  destroyed  or  injured  by  the  Magian  revolt, 
but  the  word  Avesta  had  not  yet  become  a  technical 
term;3  it  was  the  care  of  Darius  that  gave  it  a  fixed 
and  restricted  sense.  Five  centuries  afterwards,  dur- 
ing the  Sassanian  period,  these  books  were  again 
gathered,  either  from  scattered  manuscripts  or  from 
oral  traditions,  and  the  later  Avesta  took  a  definite 
form  in  the  hands  of  Adarbad  under  King  Shapur  II,4 
who,  like  another  Diocletian,  aimed  at  the  extirpa- 
tion of  the  Christian  faith.  Mazdeism  having  been 
shaken  by  the  Manichean  heresy,  a  definite  form  was 

1  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Vol.  IV,  Int.,  p.  39. 

2  This  is  a  literal   rendering  of  the  passage,   the  meaning  of  all   the 
words  being  certain,  except  the  four  wtueh  are  written  in  Italics. 

3  In  the  Elamite  and  Babylonian   versions  Avesta   is  simply  rendered 
"law"  or  "laws." 

4  Shapur  II  ascended  the  throne  about  A.  IX  309. 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  115 

thus  given  to  the  religious  code  of  Iran,  and  it  was 
then  promulgated  as  the  sacred  law  of  the  nation. 
We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  even  the  most 
modern  portions  of  the  Avesta  cannot  belong  to  a 
later  date  than  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era. 
As  the  Parsis  are  the  ruins  of  a  people,  so  also 
their  sacred  books  represent  the  ruins  of  a  religion. 
There  has  been  no  other  great  belief  in  the  world 
that  left  such  poor  monuments  of  its  fallen  splendor. 
Yet  great  is  the  value  of  the  Avesta,  and  the  belief 
of  the  few  surviving  Parsis,  in  the  eyes  of  the  histo- 
rian, as  they  present  to  us  the  last  reflex  of  the  ideas 
which  prevailed  in  Iran  during  the  five  centuries 
which  preceded  and  the  seven  which  followed  the 
birth  of  Christ.  By  the  help  of  the  ParsI  religion 
and  the  Avesta,  we  are  enabled  to  go  back  to  that 
momentous  period  in  the  history  of  literature  which 
saw  the  blending  of  the  Aryan  mind  with  the  Semitic, 
and  thus  opened  the  second  stage  of  Aryan  thought.1 

MANUSCRIPTS. 

The  recovery  of  the  manuscripts  of  the  Zend-Avesta, 
and  the  translation  of  them  proved  to  be  a  herculean 
task  for  Orientalists,  and  more  than  one  valuable  life 
has  been  given  largely  to  this  work.  For  an  hundred 
years  this  great  problem  has  cost  tireless  effort,  for  its 
solution  demanded  as  much  pioneer  work  as  the  de- 
ciphering of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  the  ancient 
kings. 

We  are  largely  indebted  to  Anquetil  Duperron,  the 
young  Frenchman  who  was  so  fearless  in  his  enthusi- 

i  Sa.  Books  of  East,  Vol.  IV.    Int.,  p.  2. 


116  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

asm  that  he  enlisted  l  as  a  private  soldier  in  order  to 
secure  a  passage  to  India,  and  spent  six  years  in  that 
country  collecting  the  manuscripts  of  the  Avesta,  and 
in  trying  to  obtain  from  the  Dasturs  a  knowledge  of 
their  contents.  But  his  was  pioneer  work,  and  his 
translation  of  the  Avesta,  which  was  made  with  the  as- 
sistance of  Dastur  Darab,  was  by  no  means  trust- 
worthy; it  was  in  fact  a  French  translation  of  a  Per- 
sian rendering  which  had  itself  been  made  from  a 
Pahlavi  version  of  the  Zend  original.2 

Afterward  Dr.  Rask  went  to  Bombay  in  the  interests 
of  the  Danish  government  and  after  collecting  many 
valuable  manuscripts,  wrote  his  essay  "  On  the  Age  and 
Genuineness  of  the  Zend  Language." 

About  the  middle  of  the  present  century,  Wester- 
gaard,  who  is  also  a  Dane,  and  one  of  the  most  ac- 
complished Zend  scholars  of  Europe,  published  an  edi- 
tion of  the  sacred  books  of  the  Zoroastrians. 

Burnouf,  Spiegel  and  Bopp  were  also  enthusastic 
students  of  these  books  of  the  Magian  literature,  and 
after  a  time  Dr.  Haug,  a  young  and  enthusiastic  Ger- 
man, was  appointed  to  a  professorship  of  Sanskrit  in 
the  Poona  College;  while  here  he  availed  himself  of 
his  opportunity  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the  liter- 
ature of  the  Parsls.  He  contributed  a  valuable  col- 
lection of  "  Essays  "  on  the  subject. 

There  are  at  present  five  editions,  more  or  less 
complete,  of  the  Zend-Avesta.  The  first  was  litho- 
graphed and  published3  under  Burnouf's  direction  in 
Paris,  and  the  second  was  transcribed  into  Roman 
characters  and  published4  at  Leipsic  by  Prof  Brock- 

1  About  1754.  31829-1843. 

2  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  119.  4  i860. 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  117 

haus.  The  third  edition  was  presented  in  Zend  charac- 
ters, and  was  prepared 1  by  Prof.  Spiegel,  and  the 
fourth  was  published  at  Copenhagen,2  by  Westergaard; 
there  are  also  one  or  two  editions  of  the  Zend-Avesta 
published  in  India  with  Gujerati  translations,  which  are 
sometimes  quoted  by  native  scholars. 

The  Yasna,  being  that  portion  of  the  Zend-Avesta 
containing  the  Gathas,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
original  hymns  of  Zoroaster,  is  the  oldest  and  most 
important  part  of  the  Magian  literature.  Early  in  the 
present  century,3  Dr.  Rask  succeeded  in  bringing  to 
Europe  a  celebrated  manuscript  of  the  Yasna  with 
Pahlavl  translation  which  is  now  in  the  University 
Library  of  Copenhagen,4  and  this  is  the  only  document 
of  the  kind  upon  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Another  priceless  manuscript  has  for  centuries  been 
hereditary  property  in  the  family  of  a  High  Priest  of 
the  Parsis,5  who  has  now  presented  it  to  the  Univer- 
sity at  Oxford,  and  through  the  courtesy  of  Prof.  F. 
Max  Miiller  we  are  enabled  to  give  our  readers  a  fac 
simile  representation 6  of  this  famous  Yasna  manuscript 
which  constitutes  one  of  the  fundamental  documents  of 
Zend  philology.  It  contains  nearly  eight  hundred 
pages,7  and  was  written  by  Mihirsipfin  Kal-Khusro,  the 
same  copyist  who  transcribed  the  Copenhagen  manu- 
script, but  it  is  from  a  different  original. 

1  1851.  a  1852-1854. 

3  About  1826.  4  Codex  numbered  5. 

s  Dastur  Jamaspji  Minocheherji  Jamasp  Asana,  Ph.  D.  of  Tubingen, 
Hon.  D.  C  L.  Oxon.  Dr.  L.  H.  Mills  applied  to  the  Dastur  for  the  loan 
of  his  manuscript  to  enable  him  to  complete  a  critical  edition  of  the 
Zend  and  Pahlavi  texts  of  the  Gathas.  and  Dastur  Jamaspji  not  only 
loaned  it  to  Dr.  Mills,  but  most  generously  presented  it  to  the  University 
of  Oxford. 

6  See  page  xx.  1  382  folios. 


118  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

ZARATHUSTRA. 

Zarathustra  or  Zoroaster1  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  prophet  of  Iran,  and  the  author  of  the  earliest 
hymns  or  Giithas,  but  the  fact  that  the  composition 
of  the  books  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  extended  over  a 
period  of  several  centuries,  precludes  the  possibility  of 
their  authorship  by  any  one  individual.  There  is  no 
historic  record  of  the  birth,  the  life  or  the  death  of 
Zarathustra,  and  this  fact,  together  with  the  vast 
amount  of  myth  and  legend  which  has  grown  up 
around  his  name,  has  led  some  Orientalists  to  question 
whether  or  not  such  a  man  ever  lived  at  all. 

Firdusi  teaches  in  a  mythical  way  that  he  belonged 
to  the  time  of  Darius.  Hyde,  Prideaux  and  several 
others  claim  that  Zarathustra  was  the  same  as  the 
Persian  Zerdusht,  the  great  patriarch  of  the  Magi, 
who  lived  between  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Cyrus  and  the  end  of  that  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  while 
others  still  claim  that  the  prophet  of  Iran  belonged  to 
an  earlier  date.2  It  seems  probable  that  he  was  a  ver- 
itable personage,  who,  although  not  necessarily  the 
author  of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  Zend-Avesta, 
may  have  led  the  departure  in  this  direction  from  the 
mythology  of  the  Vedas,  toward  the  simpler  forms  of 
Mazdeism,  but  whether  he  lived  and  first  taught 

1  Clement,  who  is  supposed  to   have  written  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  claims  that  the   original  name  was  Nebrod,  but    that  "  the 
magician  being  destroyed  by  lightning,  his   name  was   changed  to  Zoroas- 
ter by  the  Greeks  on  account  of  the  living   (Zuaai^    stream  of  the  star 
(aarepof)  being  poured  upon  him."— Clementine  Homilies,  IX,  Chap.  5. 

2  Masudi,  the  noted  Arabian  historian   and    traveler  who  wrote    about 
A.  D.  950,  remarks  that  '; according  to  the  Magi.  Zoroaster  lived  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  before  Alexander  the  Great,"  or  about  610  B.  C.,  in 
the  time  of  the  Median  king  Cyaxares. 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA-  119 

among  the  mountains  of  Media,  or  in  the  land  of 
Baktriana,  is  an  open  question. 

Indeed,  the  controversy  which  prevails  among  schol- 
ars upon  the  exegesis  of  the  Zend-Avesta  is  one  of 
unusual  severity,  and  while  the  storm  seems  to  center 
upon  the  value  of  the  Asiatic  translations,  there  are 
other  questions  which  are  involved;  the  personality  of 
Zarathustra1  is  not  only  questioned,  but  even  amongst 
those  who  admit  that  he  was  an  historical  personage, 
the  field  of  his  early  labors,  the  exact  time  to  which 
he  belonged,  and  many  other  points  are  subjects  of 
spirited  discussion. 

In  the  Gathas,  or  earlier  hymns,  Zarathustra  ap- 
pears as  a  toiling  prophet,  and  his  sphere  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  greatly  restricted.  The  objects  of 
his  concern  were  provinces  as  well  as  villages,  and  the 
masses  as  well  as  individuals.  His  circle  was  largely 
composed  of  the  reigning  prince  and  prominent  chief- 
tains— and  these,  together  with  a  priesthood  compara- 
tively pure,  were  the  greater  part  of  his  public.  The 
king,  the  people,  and  the  peers  were  all  portions  of  it. 

It  is  claimed  that  Zarathustra  had  three  sons,  and 
these  were  respectively  the  fathers  and  chiefs  of  the 
three  classes,  priests,  warriors  and  herdsmen  ;  they 
played  little  part,  however,  in  the  Mazdean  system,  and 
are  possibly  only  three  subdivisions  of  Zarathustra,  who 
was  "the  first  priest,  the  first  warrior  and  the  first 
husbandman/' 

But  when  the  student  leaves  the  Gathas  and  turns 
to  the  Yasts  or  the  Vendidad,  he  goes  from  ground 

i  Dr.  Haug,  while  maintaining  the  personality  of  Zarathustra  Spitama, 
claims  that  after  his  death,  and  possibly  during  his  life,  the  name  of  Za- 
rathustra was  adopted  by  a  successive  priesthood.  (Essays,  p.  297). 


120  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

which  is  apparently  historic  into  a  land  of  fable.  He 
leaves  behind  him  the  toiling  prophet,  who  is  appar- 
ently real,  and  meets  the  Zarathustra  of  these  latter 
productions  in  the  form  of  a  fantastic  demi-god.  He 
is  no  longer  described  as  one  who  brings  new  truth 
and  drives  away  error,  but  as  one  who  overthrows  de- 
mons—  the  valiant  smiter  of  fiends,  like  Tistrya  and 
Vayu.  He  smites  them  chiefly,  it  is  true,  with  spirit- 
ual weapons,  but  he  also  repels  the  assaults  of  Ahri- 
man  with  the  stones  which  Ahura  gave  him — stones 
which  are  as  large  as  a  house1— missiles  like  those 
that  were  hurled  at  their  foes  by  Indra,  by  Agni 
and  by  Thor.  These  are  "  the  flames  wherewith,  as 
with  a  stone,2  the  storm-god  smites  the  fiend."  A 
singular  incident  of  Zarathustra's  birth,  according  to 
Pliny,  and  later  Pars!  tradition,  is  that  he  alone  of 
all  mortals  laughed  while  being  born.  This  tradition 
would  indicate  that  his  nativity  was  in  the  region 
which  was  the  birthplace  of  the  Vedic  Maruts — those 
storm  genii  which  are  "born  of  the  laughter  of  the 
lightnings." 

Zarathustra  is  not  the  only  lawgiver  and  prophet 
which  the  Avesta  recognizes.  Gayo  Maratan,  Yima 
and  even  the  bird  Karsipta,3  appear  under  different 
names,  forms  and  functions,  as  god-like  champions  in 
the  struggle  for  light,  and  they  knew  the  law  as  well 

1  Vendidad,  Farg.  xix,  4. 

2  Rig-veda,  ii,  30,  40. 

3  The  bird  Karsipta  dwells  in  the  heavens.    Were  he  living  on  the  earth 
he  would  be  the  king  of  birds.    He  brought  the  law  into  the  Var  of  Yima, 
and  recites  the  Avesta  in  the  language  of  birds  (Bund,  xix  and  xxiv).    As 
a  bird,  because  of  the  swiftness  of  his  flight,  was  often  considered  an  incar- 
nation of  lightning,  and  as  the  thunder  was  supposed  to  be  the  voice  of  a 
god  speaking  from  above,  so  the  song  of  a  bird  was  often  thought  to  be  the 
utterance  of  a  god. 


TUB   ZEND-AVESTA.  121 

as  Zarathustra.  Many  of  the  features  of  Zarathustra 
point  to  a  god,  but  the  mythology  has  probably  grown 
up  around  a  man,  and  the  existing  mythic  elements 
have  been  woven  into  a  halo  to  surround  a  human 
face.  There  has  been  much  of  individual  genius  in 
the  formation  of  Mazdeism,  but  the  system  as  a  whole 
was  probably  produced  by  the  elaboration  of  successive 
generations  of  the  priesthood. 

THE    EARLY    PARS1S. 

It  is  evident  to  the  historian  that  the  Zend-Avesta 
should  be  carefully  studied  by  all  who  value  the  rec- 
ords of  the  human  race,  but  its  influence  for  good  or 
evil  cannot  be  determined  without  understanding  some- 
thing of  the  character  and  habits  of  the  people  to 
whom  it  peculiarly  belonged.  There  have  been  periods 
in  the  world's  history  when  the  religion  of  the  Parsis 
threatened  to  dominate  over  all  others.  If  Persia  had 
won  the  battles  of  Marathon  and  Salamis,  and  thus 
succeeded  in  the  final  conquest  of  Greece,  the  worship 
of  Ormazd  might  have  become  the  religion  of  the 
whole  civilized  world.  Persia  already  ruled  over  the 
Assyrian  and  Babylonian  empires ;  the  Jews  were  under 
her  power,  and  the  sacred  monuments  of  Egypt  had 
been  mutilated  by  the  Persian  soldiery. 

Again,  during  the  Sassanian  dynasty,  the  national 
faith  had  revived  to  such  an  extent  that  Shapur  II 
gathered  the  sacred  books  and  issued  their  code  of  law 
to  the  people,  while  the  sufferings  of  the  persecuted 
Christians  in  the  east  were  as  terrible  as  they  had  ever 
been  in  the  west — Rome  herself  being  rivaled  in  the 
work  of  cruelty.  But  the  power  of  Persia  was  broken 


122  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

by  the  Mohammedan  conquest,  and  the  war-cry  of  the 
Moslem  was  the  herald  of  defeated  tyranny;  hence  it 
is  that  Mazdeism,  although  once  the  fear  of  the  world, 
has  for  a  thousand  years  had  but  little  interest  except 
for  the  historian.  It  was  once  the  state  religion  of  a 
powerful  empire,  but  it  was  virtually  driven  away  from 
its  native  soil  by  the  sons  of  the  desert,  and  the  star 
and  crescent  waved  in  triumph  above  its  broken  altars. 
Deprived  of  political  influence,  and  without  even  the 
prestige  of  an  enlightened  priesthood,  many  of  its 
votaries  became  exiles  in  a  foreign  land,  while  the  few 
that  remained  on  Persian  soil  almost  disappeared  under 
the  iron  hand  of  Mohammedan  rule.  In  less  than  a 
century  after  their  defeat,  nearly  all  the  conquered 
people  who  remained  upon  their  native  soil  were 
brought  over  to  the  faith  of  their  new  rulers,  either  by 
persecution  or  policy,  or  by  the  attractive  power  of  a 
simpler  creed,  while  those  who  clung  to  the  faith  of 
their  fathers  sought  a  new  home  in  the  land  of  the 
Hindus,  and  found  a  refuge  on  the  western  coast  of 
India  and  the  peninsula  of  Gujarat.  Here  they  could 
worship  their  old  gods,  repeat  their  old  prayers,  and 
perform  their  old  rites;  and  here  they  still  live,  and 
thrive  to  a  certain  extent,  while  their  co-religionists  in 
Persia  are  daily  becoming  fewer  in  numbers. 

The  Parsis  of -the  old.  school  used  mats  for  seats, 
and  ate  with  their  fingers  from  platters,  but  these 
and  similar  practices  were  cleanly  and  refined  when 
compared  to  some  of  their  revolting  and  loathsome 
ceremonies.  Anthon  says,  "If  the  religion  of  Zoro- 
aster was  originally  pure  and  sublime,  it  speedily  de- 
generated and  allied  itself  to  many  very  gross  and 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  123 

hideous  forms  of  superstition  ;  if  we  were  to  judge  of 
its  tendency  by  the  practice  of  its  votaries,  we  should 
be  led  to  think  of  it  more  harshly  than  it  may  have 
deserved.  The  court  manners  were  equally  marked  by 
luxury  and  cruelty — by  luxury  refined  until  it  had 
killed  all  natural  enjoyment,  and  by  cruelty  carried 
to  the  most  loathsome  excess  that  perverted  ingenuity 
could  suggest.  It  is  above  all  the  barbarity  of  the 
women  that  fills  the  Persian  chronicles  with  their  most 
horrible  stories,  and  we  learn  from  the  same  sources 
the  dreadful  depravity  of  their  character,  and  the  vast 
extent  of  their  influence."2  It  is  a  well  known  fact  in 
the  world's  history  that  the  influence  of  an  unprin- 
cipled woman  is  much  stronger  over  a  man  who 
yields  to  her  power  than  is  the  influence  of  kindness 
and  truth  to  win  him  to  higher  associations,  and  there- 
fore we  find  that  at  a  certain  period,  the  men  of 
Persia,  cramped  by  the  rigid  power  of  ceremonials, 
and  surrounded  by  the  ministers  to  their  artificial 
wants,  became  the  slaves  of  their  priests  and  concu- 
bines. It  is  probably  true  that  even  after  the  people 
had  lost  much  of  the  original  purity  and  simplicity  of 
their  manners,  the  noble  youth  of  Persia  were  still 
educated  in  the  severe  discipline  of  their  ancestors, 
which  is  represented  as  nearly  resembling  that  of  the 
Spartan,  but  gradually  the  ancient  discipline  became 
either  wholly  obsolete  or  degenerated  into  empty  forms. 

THE    MODERN    PARSIS. 

The  religion  of  the  Parsis  is  sometimes  called  Dual- 
ism, on  account  of  its   main  tenet ;    it    is   called   Maz- 

i  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  167.  2  Clas.  Diet.,  p.  1015. 


124  PERSIAN    LITEKATUBE. 

deism,  because  Ahura  Mazda  is  its  supreme  god  ;  it  is 
called  Magism,  because  its  priesthood  are  the  Magi ; 
it  is  called  Zoroastrianism,  as  representing  the  doctrines 
of  its  supposed  founder,  and  it  is  also  called  Fire 
Worship,  because  fire  has  for  centuries  apparently  re- 
ceived the  adoration1  of  the  people. 

At  present  the  number  of  the  Parsis  in  western 
India  is  estimated  at  about  one  hundred  thousand, 
while  Yezd  and  Kerman  together  can  claim  only  about 
fifty-five  thousand.  Hence,  while  the  colonies  upon 
the  soil  of  India  have  retained  their  strength  much 
better  than  the  others,  the  grand  total  is  very  small, 
being  only  about  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the 
population  of  the  world.  They  are  still  known  as 
Fire-Worshippers,  although  they  protest  against  the 
name,  as  indicating  that  they  are  mere  idolators.  It 
is  doubtless  true  that  at  one  time  fire  itself  was  wor- 
shipped, and  Atar,  the  fire-god,  held  high  rank  among 
the  Zoroastrians.  The  primitive  Aryan  hearth,  upon 
which  the  sacred  element  blazed,  was  also  an  object 
of  adoration,  and  the  Parsis  still  admit  that  in  their 
youth  they  are  taught  to  face  some  luminous  object 
while  worshipping  God,  although  they  claim  that  they 
look  upon  fire  as  merely  an  emblem  of  divine  power. 
There  is  certainly  the  existence  of  a  strong  national 
instinct — an  indescribable  one — which  is  felt  by  every 

i  Clement  says:  "  The  Persians,  first  taking  coals  from  the  lightning  which 
fell  from  heaven,  preserved  them  by  ordinary  fuel,  and  honoring  the 
heavenly  fire  as  a  god,  were  honored  by  the  fire  itself,  with  the  first  king- 
dom, as  its  first  worshippers.  After  them  the  Babylonians,  stealing  coals 
from  the  fire  that  was  there,  and  conveying  it  safely  to  iheir  own  home  and 
worshipping  it,  they  themselves  also  reigned  in  order.  And  the  Egyptians, 
acting  in  like  manner,  and  calling  the  fire  in  their  own  dialect  Phtka".  which 
is  translated  Hephaistus  or  Osiris,  he  who  first  reigned  amongst  them  is 
called  by  its  name."— Clementine  Homilies,  IX,  Chap.  vi. 


THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  125 

Pars!  in  regard  to  both  light  and  fire.  They  are  the 
only  Eastern  people  who  abstain  entirely  from  smoking, 
and  they  will  not  even  blow  out  a  candle  unless  com- 
pelled to  do  so. 

The  modern  Parsis  believe  in  monotheism,  and 
use  a  table,  as  well  as  knives  and  forks  at  their 
meals.  Their  prayers  are  recited  in  the  old  Zend 
language,  although  neither  he  who  repeats,  nor  they 
who  listen  can  understand  a  word  that  is  said.  Every 
one  goes  to  the  fire  temple  when  he  chooses  and  re- 
cites his  prayers  himself,  or  pays  the  priest  to  recite 
them  for  him.  Among  the  whole  body  of  priests, 
there  are  perhaps  not  more  than  twenty  who  can  lay 
any  claim  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  and 
even  these  have  only  learned  the  meaning  of  the 
words  they  are  taught,  without  knowing  the  language 
either  philosophically  or  grammatically. 

The  modern  Parsis  are  monogamists,  and  hence 
the  manifold  evils  of  the  harem  are  abolished  from 
among  the  people.  They  do  not  eat  anything  which 
is  prepared  by  a  cook  belonging  to  another  creed. 
They  also  object  to  beef  and  pork.  Their  priesthood 
is  hereditary.  None  but  the  son  of  a  priest  can 
take  the  orders,  and  it  is  not  obligatory  upon  him 
to  do  so.  The  high  priest  is  called  Dastur,  while 
the  others  are  called  Mobed.  They  are  greatly  at- 
tached to  their  religion  on  account  of  its  former 
glory,  and  it  is  felt  that  the  relinquishment  of  it 
would  be  the  giving  up  of  all  that  was  most  sacred 
and  precious  to  their  forefathers.  Still  they  have,  in 
many  essential  points,  unconsciously  approached  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  if  they  could  but  read 


126  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

the  Zend-Avesta  they  would  find  that  their  faith  is 
no  longer  the  faith  of  the  Yasna  or  the  Vendidad.1 
As  historical  relics  these  works  will  always  be  of 
value,  but  as  the  oracles  of  faith  they  lack  the 
vitality  of  principle  necessary  for  the  building  of 
human  character. 

i  Chips,  Vol.  I,  pp.  162-177. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    TEACHINGS   OF   THE   ZEND-AVESTA. 

THE  GATHAS — THE  WAIL  OF  THE  KINE — THE  LAST 
GATHA — THE  MARRIAGE  SONG — THE  YASNA — COM- 
MENTARY ON  THE  FORMULAS — THE  YASNA  HAP- 
TANG-HAITI — THE  SROSH  YAST —  THE  YASNA  CON- 
CLUDING. 

THE  teachings  of  the  Zend-Avesta  have  been  par- 
tially treated  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  Persian 
mythology,  but  other  features  of  the  work  seem  to 
demand  attention  here.  Briefly  presented,  the  pres- 
ent world  is  two-fold,  being  the  work  of  two  hostile 
beings — Ahura-Mazda,  the  good  principle,  and  Angra 
Mainyu,  or  Ahriman,  the  evil  principle.  All  that  is 
good  in  the  present  state  of  things  comes  from  the 
former,  and  all  that  is  evil  from  the  latter.  The 
history  of  the  world  is  the  history  of  the  conflict 
between  these  two  powers,  as  Angra  Mainyu  invaded 
the  world  of  Ahura  Mazda,  and  marred  its  beauty 
and  truth.  Man  is  active  in  the  conflict,  his  duty 
being  revealed  to  him  in  the  law  which  was  given 
by  Ahura  Mazda  to  Zarathustra. 

Although  of  later  date,  it  is  evident  that  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Parsis  is  derived  from  the  same  source 
as  that  of  the  Hindus — derived  from  the  faith  of  the 
Aryan  forefathers  of  the  Hindus  and  the  Iranians. 


128  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

We  therefore  find  two  strata  in  the  mythology  which 
is  under  discussion ;  the  one  comprises  all  the  gods 
and  myths  which  were  already  in  existence  during 
the  Indo-Iranian  period,  and  the  other  comprises  the 
gods  and  myths  which  were  only  developed  after  the 
separation  of  the  two  mythologies. 

There  are  two  principal  points  in  the  Indo-Irfmian 
religion.  First,  that  there  is  a  law  in  nature ;  and 
second,  that  there  is  also  war  in  nature.  There  is 
law  in  nature,  because  day  returns  with  its  golden 
splendor  and  night  with  its  eloquent  mystery  ;  seed- 
time and  harvest,  the  planting  and  the  fruiting, 
succeed  each  other  with  unfailing  regularity.  There 
is  war  in  nature,  because  it  contains  powers  that 
work  for  evil,  as  well  as  those  that  work  for  good. 
Hence  the  unceasing  struggle  goes  on,  and  it  is 
never  more  apparent  to  the  human  eye  than  in  a 
storm,  where  a  fiend  seems  to  bear  away  the  waters 
which  the  earth  so  sadly  needs,  and  fights  with  the 
god  who  at  last  brings  them  to  the  thirsting  plants. 
Amidst  all  the  various  myths  of  the  Indo-Iranian 
system  there  is  a  monotheism  and  an  unconscious 
dualism.  But  both  of  these  disappeared  in  the  fur- 
ther development  of  Hindu  mythology.  Mazdeism, 
however,  lost  neither  of  these  two  ideas ;  it  clung 
strongly  to  them  both. 

Hence  we  have  the  Ahura-Mazda,  "the  lord  of 
high  knowledge,"  "the  all-embracing  sky."  He  was 
the  Varuna  of  the  Hindus,  but  this  name  was  lost 
in  Iran,  or  remained  only  as  the  name  of  a  mythical 
region — the  Varena,  which  was  the  scene  of  a  mythical 
fight  between  a  storm-fiend  and  a  storm-god. 


THE  TEACHINGS   OF  THE    ZEND-AVESTA.  129 

Ahura,  the  heaven-god,  is  white,  and  his  body  is 
the  fairest  and  greatest  of  bodies.  He  is  wedded  to 
the  rivers,  and  the  sun  is  his  eye,  while  the  light- 
nings are  his  children,  and  he  wears  the  heavens  as 
a  star-spangled  garment. 

In  the  time  of  Herodotus,  the  Persians,  while  in- 
voking Ahum-Mazda  as  the  creator  of  heaven  and 
earth,  still  called  the  whole  vault  of  the  sky  the 
supreme  god.  This  deity  slowly  brought  everything 
under  his  sway,  and  the  other  gods  finally  became, 
not  only  his  subjects,  but  also  his  creatures. 

While  the  single  elements  of  Mazdeism  do  not  differ 
essentially  from  those  of  the  Vedic  and  the  Indo- 
European  mythology  generally,  still  the  grouping  of 
these  elements  in  a  new  order  presents  them  in  a  new 
form.  Thus  we  find  that  in  Mazdeism  everything  is 
referred  either  to  Ahura  Mazda  or  to  Angra  Mainyu 
as  its  source,  and  hence  the  world  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  in  each  of  which  a  strong  unity  prevails,  repre- 
senting the  dualism  of  this  system.  Ahura  is  all  light, 
truth,  goodness  and  knowledge,  while  Angra  Mainyu, 
or  Ahriman,  is  all  darkness,  falsehood,  wickedness  and 
ignorance. 

Man,  according  to  his  deeds,  belongs  to  Ormazd  or 
to  Ahriman.  He  belongs  to  Ormazd  if  he  sacrifices  to 
him,  and  helps  him  by  good  thoughts,  words  and 
deeds ;  if  he  enlarges  his  dominion  and  makes  the 
realm  of  Ahriman  smaller  by  destroying  his  creatures; 
while  the  man  who  is  a  friend  of  Ahriman  and  repre- 
sents evil  thoughts  and  evil  deeds,  who  slays  the  crea- 
tures of  Ormazd,  is  classed  as  a  demon.  Even  animals 
are  classified  as  belonging  to  one  spirit  or  the  other, 


130  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

in  accordance  with  the  idea  that  they  had  been  incar- 
nations of  either  the  god  or  the  fiend. 

Killing  the  Ahrirnan  creatures  is  killing  Ahriman 
himself,  and  many  sins  can  thus  be  atoned  for,  while 
killing  Ormazdean  animals  is  an  abomination  like  the 
killing  of  the  god.  The  struggle  between  the  good 
and  evil,  however,  is  limited,  for  the  world  is  not  to 
last  forever,  and  Ahriman  will  be  defeated  at  last. 

There  had  been  an  old  myth  that  the  world  would 
end  in  a  fearful  winter  like  that  of  the  Eddie  Fimbul, 
which  would  be  succeeded  by  an  eternal  spring,  but  as 
a  storm  is  the  ordinary  symbol  of  strife,  the  view 
which  finally  obtained  in  their  mythology,  is  the  pre- 
diction that  the  world  will  finally  end  in  a  battle  of 
the  elements. 

The  Parsis  came  at  last  to  a  pure  monotheism,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  this  change  may  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  creed  of  the  Moslem  that  "there  is 
one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet,"  but  the 
difference  in  sentiment  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  one 
generation,  for  it  is  really  deeper  and  wider  than  the 
movement  which,  in  earlier  times,  brought  the  Magi 
from  an  imperfect  form  of  dualism  to  one  which  was 
much  more  decided  in  its  presentations.1 

THE    GATHAS. 

The  five  Gathas  which  have  been  attributed  to 
Zarathustra  are  doubtless  the  earliest  portions  of  the 
Zend-Avesta.  They  comprise  seventeen  sections  of  po- 
etical matter,  equal  in  extent  to  twenty-five  or  thirty 
hymns  of  the  Rig-veda.  They  are  composed  in  the 

i  Sa.  Bks.  of  the  East,  Vol.  IV,  Int.,  pp.  56,  83. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  131 

ancient  Aryan  metre,  and  ascribe  supreme  power  to 
Ahftra  Mazda,  who  is  opposed  constantly  by  the  spirit 
of  evil. 

In  these  early  songs,  the  kine,  as  the  representative 
of  the  people,  laments  the  burden  which  is  laid  upon 
Iranian  life.  The  effort  to  win  their  bread  by  honest 
labor  is  opposed,  although  not  entirely  frustrated,  by 
the  Deva-worshipping  tribes,  who  still  struggle  with  the 
Zarathustrians  for  the  control  of  the  territory.  The 
kine,  therefore,  lifts  her  wail  to  Ahura,  who  responds 
by  the  appointment  of  Zarathustra  as  the  being  who  is 
entrusted  with  her  redemption ;  and  he,  accepting  his 
commission,  begins  his  labors.  We  then  have  a  series 
of  lamentations  and  praises  addressed  by  Zarathustra 
and  his  immediate  associates  to  Ahura ;  also  exhorta- 
tions which  are  addressed  to  the  people. 

These  hymns  were  composed  amidst  an  agricultural 
people,  many  of  whom  were  also  herdsmen.  Their 
land  and  their  cattle  being  their  most  valuable  prop- 
erty, the  raids  of  the  Deva-worshippers  were  looked 
upon  as  most  terrible  visitations.  In  the  course  of 
these  invasions,  we  have  also  intimations  of  an  organ- 
ized effort  on  the  part  of  the  foe  to  overwhelm  the 
Zarathustrians,  and  it  appears  that  at  times  they  very 
nearly  accomplished  their  object,  sanguinary  conflicts 
being  repeatedly  alluded  to.  It  may  be  inferred  by 
the  prevalence  of  the  thankful  tone  in  the  Gathas, 
that  the  Zarathustrians  were  not  conquered  during  the 
Gathic  period,  although  at  the  time  that  the  last 
hymns  of  the  series  were  written,  the  struggle  was  by 
no  means  over. 

There    is   an    historical  tone  in   the  Gathas,   which 


132  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

should  be  carefully  observed.  Their  doctrines  and  ex- 
hortations concern  an  actual  religious  movement, 
which  was  taking  place  at  the  time  of  their  composi- 
tion, and  that  movement  was  apparently  pure  and  ear- 
nest. Their  tone  is  always  serious,  and  nearly  all  the 
myths  are  dropped  ;  even  the  old  Aryan  gods,  who  re-' 
appear  in  the  later  Avesta,  being  ignored  with  a  single 
exception. 

In  the  first  Gatha,  the  soul  of  the  kine,  as  repre- 
senting the  herds  of  the  Iranian  people,  raises  her 
voice  in  lamentation.  She  asks  why  and  for  whom 
she  was  made,  since  afflictions  compass  her  and  her 
life  is  constantly  threatened  by  the  incursions  of  pred- 
atory tribes.  She  also  beseeches  the  Bountiful  Immor- 
tals to  instruct  her  as  to  the  benefits  of  agriculture, 
and  confirm  her  protectors  in  the  science,  as  the  only 
remedy  for  her  sufferings. 

THE   WAIL   OF    THE   KINE. 

"Unto  you,    0    Ahura   and  Asha,   the  soul   of  the 

kine  cried  aloud, 
'  For  whom  did  ye  create  me  ? 
And  for  whom  did  ye  fashion   me  ? 
On  me  comes  the  assault  of  wrath  and  of  violent 

power ; 

The  blow  of  desolation  and  thievish  might. 
None  other  pasture  given  have  I  than  you; 
Therefore  do  ye  teach  me  good  tillage 
For  the  fields,  mine  only  hope  of  welfare/" 
Ahura  speaks: 

"  Upon  this  the  Creator  of  the  kine  asked  of  Right- 


THE   TEACHINGS   OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  133 

'How  was  thy  guardian    for    the    kine  appointed 

by  thee, 

When  having  power  over  all  her  fate  ye  made  her  ? 
In  what  manner  did   ye  secure   for  her,  together 

with  pasture 

A  cattle-chief  who  was  both  skilled  and  energetic? 
Whom  did  ye  select  as  her  life's  master 
Who  might  hurl  back  the  fury  of  the  wicked?'" 

Asha  answers: 

To  him  the  Divine  Righteousness  answered: 
"Great  was  our  perplexity; 
A   chieftain    who    was    capable    of    smiting    back 

their  fury 

And  who  was  himself  without  hate 
Was  not  to  be  obtained  by  us." 

Zarathustra  intercedes: 

"  The  Great  Creator  is  himself  most  mindful 
Of   the  uttered  indications    which  have   been  ful- 
filled beforehand 
In  the  deeds  of  demon  gods. 
The  Ahura  is  the  discerning  arbiter; 
So  shall  it  be  to  us  as  he  shall  will. 
Therefore  it  is  that  we  both, 
My  soul  and  the  soul  of  the  mother  kine, 
Are  working  our  supplications  for  the  two  worlds 
To  Ahura,  and  he  will  answer, 
'Not  for  the  righteous — 
Not  for  the  thrifty  tiller  of  the  earth, 
Shall     there     be    destruction    together    with    the 
wicked?'" 


134  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Ahura  speaks  : 

Upon  this  the  Lord  spake  thus: 
"Not  in  this  manner  is  a  spiritual  master  found; 
Therefore  thee  have  I  named 
For  such  a  head  to  the  tiller  of  the  ground. 
.     .     .     This  man  is  found 
Who  alone  has  hearkened  to  our  enunciations: 
Zarathustra  Spitama 
I  will  give  him  the  good  abode 
And  authoritative  place." 
Voice  of  the  Kine: 

Upon  this  the  soul  of  the  kine  lamented: 
"Woe  is  upon  me 

Since  I  have  obtained  for  myself  in  my  wounding 
A  lord  who  is  powerless  to  effect  his  wish, 
The  voice  of  a  feeble  and  pusillanimous  man; 
Whereas  I  desire  one  who  is  lord  over  his  will, 
And  able  as  one  of  royal  state, — 
Who    is  able    to    accomplish    what   he    desires   to 

effect." 
Zarathustra: 

"Do  ye,  0  Ahura,  and  thou,  0  Righteousness, 
Grant  gladness  unto  these: 
Bestow    upon    them     the    peaceful    amenities    of 

home 

And  quiet  happiness     .     . '   . 
Do  ye  now  therefore  assign  unto  us  your   aid   in 

abundance 

For  our  great  cause. 
May  we   be   partakers  of  the    bountiful  grace  of 

these  your  equals, 
Your  counsellors  and  servants." 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  135 

Zarathustra,  having  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office,  composes  a  liturgy  for  the  benefit  of  his  col- 
leagues, which  is  given  in  the  second  hymn.  The 
doctrine  of  dualism  is  next  taught.  The  progress  and 
struggles  of  the  cause  are  presented.  There  is  a  song 
of  thankfulness  offered  in  gratitude-  for  improved 
fortunes. 

In  the  third  Gatha,  salvation  is  announced  as  uni- 
versal for  believers,  and  also  contains  the  reflections 
of  Zarathustra  upon  the  sublimity  and  bountifulness 
of  Ahura.  There  are  also  personal  hopes  and  appeals. 

THE    LAST    GATHA. 

While  the  matter  of  this  hymn  is  homogeneous 
with  that  of  the  other  Gathas,  it  bears  some  evidence 
of  having  been  composed  in  the  latter  portion  of 
Zarathustra's  life.  The  subject  is  a  marriage  song  of 
a  political  and  religious  character.  The  freshness  and 
vigor  of  the  style  may  indicate  Zarathustrian  influ- 
ence, if  not  authorship.  The  marriage  festival  of  the 
prophet's  daughter  must  have  been  a  semi-political 
occasion,  and  the  author  would  naturally  express  him- 
self in  reference  to  the  struggle  which  was  still  going 
on. 

THE    MARRIAGE    SONG. 

"That  best  prayer  has  been  answered, 
The  prayer  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 
That  Ahura  Mazda 
Might  grant  him  those  boons 
Which  flow  from  the  Good  Order ; 
Even  a  life  that  is  prospered  for  eternal  duration ; 
And  also  those  who  deceived  him ; 


136  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

May  he  also  grant  him, 
As  the  good  faith's  disciples  in  word  and  in 
deed." 

The  master  of  the  feast  then  speaks  as  follows  : 

"And  him -will  they  give  thee, 
Oh  Pouroukista, 
Young  as  thou  art  of  the  daughters  of 

Zarathustra, 

Him  will  they  give  thee 

As  a  help  in  the  true  service  Asha  and  Mazda, 
As  a  chief  and  a  guardian. 
Counsel  well  then  together, 
And  act  in  just  action/' 

The  bride  answers  : 
"  I  will  love  him, 

Since  from  my  father  he  gained  me. 
For  the  master  and  toilers, 
And  for  the  lord-kinsman, 
He,  the  Good  Mind's  bright  blessing. 
The  pure  to  the  pure  ones. 
And  to  me  be  the  insight  which  I  gain  from  his 

counsel. 
Mazda  grant  it  for  good  conscience  forever." 

Priestly   master  of  the  feast : 

"  Monitions  for  the  marrying, 
I  speak  to  you,  maidens, 
And  heed  ye  my  saying : 
By  these  laws  of  the  faith  which  I  utter 
Obtain  ye  the  life  of  the  good  mind 
On  earth  and  in  heaven. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  137 

And  to  you,  bride  and  bridegroom, 

Let  each  one  the  other  in  righteousness  cherish, 

Thus  alone  unto  each  shall  the  home  life  be 

happy. 

Thus  real  are  these  things,  ye  men  and  ye  women 
From  the   lie-demon  protecting 
A  guard  o'er  my  faithful 
And  so  I  grant  progress  and  goodness 
And  the  hate  of  the  lie  with  the  hate  of  her 

bondsmen 

I  would  expel  from  the  body — 
Where  is  then  the  righteous  lord  that  will   smite 

them  from  life 

And  beguile  them  of  license  ? 
Mazda !  there  is  the  power  which  will  banish  and 

conquer."1 

THE    YASNA. 

The  word  Yasna  means  worship  including  sacrifice. 
This  was  the  principal  liturgy  of  the  Zarathustrians, 
in  which  confession,  invocation,  prayer,  exhortation 
and  praise  are  all  combined.  The  Gathas  are  sung 
in  the  middle  of  it  and  in  the  Vendidad  Sadah ;  the 
Visparad  is  interpolated  within  it.  Like  other  com- 
positions of  its  kind,  it  is  largely  made  up  of  the 
fragments  of  different  ages  and  modes  of  composition. 
We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Yasna  existed 
in  its  present  form  in  the  earlier  periods  of  Zara- 
thustranism,  but  the  fragments  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed, may,  some  of  them,  reach  back  to  that  era,  and 
even  its  present  arrangement  is  comparatively  early  in 

i  Sa.  Bks.  of  the  East,  Vol.  XXXI,  pp.  6-194. 


138  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

the  history  of  Mazdean  literature.  The  following  ex- 
tracts have  been  chosen  as  representing  the  finest 
specimens  of  poetic  fervor  to  be  found  in  the  Yasna : 

COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE   SACRIFICE. 

"  I   will   announce  and  I   will    complete   my   Yasna 

to  Ahura  Mazda, 

The  radiant  and  glorious,  the  greatest  and    best, 
The  one  whose  body  is  the  most  perfect, 
Who  has  fashioned  us, 
And  who  has  nourished  and  protected   us, 
Who  is   the  most  bounteous  spirit.    .     .     . 

"  I   will  announce  and   I    will   complete   my   Yasna 

to  the   Good   Mind, 
And   to   Righteousness  the  best, 
To  the  Universal   Weal  and   Immortality, 
To   the  body  of  the  Kine  and  to  the  Kine's  soul, 
And  to  the  fire  of  Ahura   Mazda, 
Who,   more  than  all  the   Bountiful   Immortals 
Has   made  the  effort  for  our  success.     .     .     . 

"  I  will  announce  and    I  will  complete   my   Yasna 

to   Mithra  of  the  wide  pastures, 
Of  the  thousand  ears,   and   of  the   myriad  eyes 
The   Izad  of  the  spoken   name.1 

"  I  celebrate  and   complete  my  Yasna  to    the  Fra- 

vishas2  of  the  saints, 
And  to   those   women  who   have  many  sons, 

1  Having  an  especial  Yast. 

2  The  first  month  is  called  Fravisha,  and  indicates  the  particular  time  of 
this  celebration.    Pravisha  also  means  the  departed  souls  of  ancestors,  and 
these  angels  or  protectors  are  numberless.    Every  being  of  the  good  cre- 
ation, whether  living,  dead  or  still  unborn,  has  its  own  Fravisha  or  guardian 
angel,  who  has  existed  from  the  beginning. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  139 

And  to  a  prosperous  home  life 

Which    continues  without    reverse  throughout  the 

year, 
And   to   that  might   which  strikes  victoriously.  .  . 

"  I  announce  and  complete  my  Yasna  to  the  Mahya, 
The  monthly  festivals,   lords  of  the  ritual  order, 
To  the  new  and  the  later  moon,  and   to  the    full 
moon   which   scatters  night.     .     .     . 

"  I  announce  and  complete  my  Yasna  to  the  yearly 

feasts.     .     .     . 

Yea,    I  celebrate  and   complete   my   Yasna 
To  the  seasons,  lords  of  the  ritual  order.     .     .     . 

"  I  announce  and   complete  my   Yasna 
To  all  those  who  are  the  thirty  and  three,1 
Lords  of  the  ritual   order.     .     .     . 

"  To  Ahiira  and  to  Mithra,   to  the  star  Tistrya, 
The  resplendent  and  glorious, 
To  the  moon  and   the   resplendent   sun, 
Him    of    the    rapid    steeds,    the    eye    of    Ahura 
Mazda." 

The  sacrifice  is  long  continued,  and  the  gods  are 
again  approached  with  interminable  ritual,  and  the 
naming  of  the  objects  of  propitiation;  the  offerings 
are  then  made  to  each  of  the  gods,  the  fire  of 
earth  receiving  especial  attention,  as  well  as  the  stars 
of,  heaven  and  all  the  Bountiful  Immortals. 

At  each  presentation  of  the  offering  by  the  priest, 
the  object  of  propitiation  is  named.  There  are  invo- 

i  Haug  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to  this  striking  coincidence  with 
Hindu  mythology;  in  the  Aitareya,  and  Satapatha  Hrahmanas,  in  the 
Atharva-veda,  and  in  the  Ramayana,  the  gods  are  numbered  at  thirty-three. 


140  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

cations  and  dedications  almost   without  number,  Zara- 
thustra being  also  mentioned  as  an  object  of  worship. 

"  And  we  worship  Zarathustra  Spitama  in  our  sacri- 
fice, 

The  holy  lord    of  the   ritual   order, 
And   we  worship  every  Izad  as  we  worship  him; 
And  we  worship  also  the  Fravisha   of   Zarathustra 

Spitama,  the  saint. 
And  we  worship  the  utterances  of  Zarathustra  and 

his   religion, 
His  faith  and   his  love. 
And   we  worship  the  former  religions  of  the  world 

devoted  to  Righteousness, 
Which  were  instituted   at  the  creation, 
The  holy  religion   of  Ahura   Mazda, 
The  resplendent   and  glorious.     ..." 
And  we  worship  the   milk   offering  and  the  liba- 
tion, 

The  two  which  cause  the  waters  to   flow  forth, 
And  we  worship  all  waters  and  all  plants, 
And  all  good  men  and  all  good  women."1 

COMMENTARY  ON  THE  FORMULAS. 

This  commentary  is  written  in  the  Zend  language, 
and  is  valuable  as  a  specimen  of  early  exegesis.  Zar- 
athustra is  here  represented  as  holding  a  conversation 
with  Ahura  Mazda,  and  in  reply  to  his  questions 
Ahura  says:  "Whoever  in  this  world  of  mine  shall 
mentally  recall  a  portion  of  the  Ahuna-vairya  (formu- 
las), and  having  thus  recalled  it,  shall  undertone  it, 
and  then  utter  it  aloud  ;  whoever  shall  worship  thus, 

lYasna,  xvi. 


THE   TEACHINGS   OF   THE    ZEND-AVESTA.  141 

then  even  with  threefold  safety  and  speed  I  will 
bring  his  soul  over  the  bridge  of  JTinvad  (Chinvat). 
I  who  am  Ahura  Mazda  will  help  him  to  pass  over 
it  to  heaven,  the  best  life,  and  to  the  lights  of  heaven." 

"And  whoever,  0  Zarathustra,  while  undertoning 
the  parts  of  the  Ahuna-vairya,  takes  aught  therefrom, 
I  who  am  Ahura  Mazda  will  draw  his  soul  off  from 
the  better  world;  yea,  so  far  will  I  withdraw  it  as 
the  earth  is  large  and  wide. 

"  And  this  word  is  the  most  emphatic  of  the  words 
which  have  ever  been  pronounced,  or  which  are  now 
spoken,  or  which  shall  be  spoken  in  the  future,  for 
this  utterance  is  of  such  a  nature  that  if  all  the  liv- 
ing world  should  learn  it,  and  learning,  hold  fast  by 
it,  they  would  be  redeemed  from  their  mortality/'1 

THE   YASNA   HAPTANG-HAITA. 

This  Yasna  of  the  "  Seven  Chapters "  appears  to 
rank  next  in  antiquity  to  the  Gathas,  but  the  tone 
is  considerably  changed,  although  the  dialect  remains 
the  same.  We  have  here  a  stronger  personification 
of  the  Bountiful  Immortals,  while  fire  is  still  wor- 
shipped; also  the  earth  and  grass.  We  find  here  praise 
to  Ahura  and  the  Immortals,  to  fire,  to  the  creation,  to 
the  earth  and  to  sacred  waters.  The  sacrifice  to  the 
"Soul  of  the  Kine"  is  also  given,  and  the  sacrifices  to 
both  earth  and  heaven,  to  the  stormy  wind  that 
Mazda  made,  also  to  the  peaks  of  the  beautiful 
mountain. 

"  And  we  worship  the  Good  Mind  and  the  spirits 
of  the  saints.  And  we  sacrifice  to  the  fish  of  fifty- 

i  See  Yasiia,  xix. 


142  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

five  fins,  and  to  the  Unicorn  which  stands  in  Vouru- 
kasha,  and  to  the  sea  where  he  stands,  and  to  the 
Haoma,  golden  flowered,  growing  on  the  heights. 
We  sacrifice  to  Haoma,  that  driveth  death  afar,  and 
to  the  flood  streams  of  the  waters,  and  to  the  great 
flight  of  the  birds,  and  to  the  approach  of  the  Fire- 
priests  as  they  approach  us  from  afar,1  and  seek  to 
gain  the  provinces  and  spread  the  ritual  law."2 

The  Yasna  also  includes  several  Yasts,  or  hymns  of 
praise,  some  of  which  contain  poetry  as  well  as 
praise.  As  Sraosha  is  the  only  divinity  of  the  later 
groups  mentioned  in  the  first  four  Gathas,  the  Yast 
which  is  dedicated  to  him  appears  to  rank  in  antiquity 
next  to  those  fragments  which  are  found  in  the 
Gathic  dialect.  The  name  of  Sraosha  appears  still  to 
retain  its  meaning  as  the  abstract  quality  of  obedience 
although  it  is  personified. 

THE   SRAOSHA    YAST. 

"  Propitiation  be  to  Sraosha,  Obedience  the  blessed, 

the  Mighty, 

The  incarnate  mind   of  reason, 
Whose  body  is  the  Mithra, — 
Him  of  the  daring  spear  devoted  to  the  Lord 
For  his  worship,  homage,  propitiation  and  praise. 

"We  worship  Sraosha,  the  blessed,  the  stately, 
Him  who  smites  with  the  blow  of  victory, 
For  his  splendor  and  his  glory, 
For  his  might  and  the  blow  which  smites  with 
victory. 

i  This  expression  probably  points  to  an  immigration  of  Zarathustranism. 
"Yasna,  xlii. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.  143 

"I  will  worship  him  with  the  Yasna  of  the  Izads. 
And  we   worship  all  the  words  of  Zarathustra 
And  all  the  deeds  well  done  for  him.     .     . 

"  We  worship  Sraosha,  the  blessed, 
Whom  four  racers  draw  in  harness, 
White  and  shining,  beautiful  and  powerful 
Quick  to  learn  and  fleet, 
Obeying  before  speech, 
Heeding  orders  from  the  mind, 
With  their  hoofs  of  horn,  gold-covered, 
Fleeter  than  our  horses,  swifter  than  the  winds; 
More  rapid  than  the  rain-drops  as  they  fall, 
Yea,  fleeter  than  the  clouds  or  well-winged  birds, 
Or  the  well-shot  arrow  as  it  flies 
Which  overtake  not  these  swift  ones 
As  they  fly  after  them  pursuing, 
But  which  are  never  overtaken  when  they  flee, 
Which  plunge  away  from  all  the  weapons 
And  draw  Sraosha  with  them, 
The  good  Sraosha  and  the  blessed. 

"We  worship  Obedience,  the  blessed, 
Who,  though  so  lofty  and  so  high,  yea,  so  stately, 
Yet   stoops   to    Mazda's    creatures,    even    to    the 

girdle     .... 
For  his  splendor  and  his  glory, 
For  his  might  which  smites  to  victory. 
I  will  worship  him  with  the  Yasna  of    the  Izads, 
And  may  he  come  to  aid  u&, 
He  who  smites  with  victory. 
Obedience  the  blessed.  "l 

i  Yasna,  Ivii. 


144  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

THE   YASNA    CONCLUDING. 

This  Yasna,  having  been  composed  long  after  the 
supposed  time  of  Zarathustra,  can  hardly  be  genuine 
in  its  present  shape.  It  may,  however,  be  an  elabor- 
ation of  an  earlier  document. 

"  Frashaostra  the  holy,  asked  the  saintly  Zarathus- 
tra, 'What  is,  in  very  truth,  the  memorized  recital 
of  the  rites?  What  is  the  completed  delivery  of  the 
Gathas?'" 

"  Zarathustra  said,  '  We  worship  Ahura  Mazda  with 
our  sacrifice  as  the  holy  lord  of  the  ritual  order,  and 
we  sacrifice  to  Zarathustra  likewise  as  the  holy  lord  of 
the  ritual  order,  and  we  sacrifice  to  the  Fravisha  of 
Zarathustra,  the  saint. 

'And  we  sacrifice  to  the  Bountiful  Immortals,  the 
guardians  of  the  saints,  and  we  sacrifice  to  all  the 
good,  heroic  and  bounteous  Fravishas  of  the  saints. 
.  .  .  And  we  worship  all  the  five  Gathas,  the  holy 
ones  and  the  entire  Yasna,  and  the  sounding  of  its 
chants. 

'And  we  sacrifice  to  all  the  springs  of  water  and 
to  the  water  streams  as  well,  and  to  growing  plants 
and  forest  trees,  and  to  the  entire  land  and  heaven, 
and  to  all  the  stars,  and  to  the  moon  and  sun,  even 
to  all  the  lights  without  beginning.  .  .  . 

'We  sacrifice  to  the  active  man  and  to  the  man  of 
good  intent,  for  the  hindrance  of  darkness,  of  wast- 
ing of  the  strength  and  life,  and  to  health  and 
healing. 

'We  sacrifice  to  the  Yasna's  ending  words,  and  to 
them  which  end  the  Gathas,  and  we  sacrifice  to  the 


THE   TEACHINGS   OF  THE    ZEND-AVESTA.  145 

bounteous  hymns  themselves,  which  rule  in  the  ritual 
course,  the  holy  ones.     .     .     . 

'And  we  sacrifice  to  the  souls  of  the  dead  which 
are  the  Fravishas  of  the  saints,  and  we  sacrifice  to 
that  lofty  Lord  who  is  Ahura  Mazda  himself.'" 


CHAPTEK   VII. 

TEACHINGS   OP    THE   ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED. 

THE  VENDIDAD — FARGARD  II — THE  VARA  OF  YIMA — • 
THE  LAWS  OF  PURIFICATION — DISPOSITION  OF  THE 
DEAD — PUNISHMENTS — THE  PLACE  OF  REWARD — THE 
VISPARAD — TEACHING  OF  THE  MODERN  PARSIS. 

THIS  portion  of  the  Zend-Avesta  is  also  a  collec- 
tion of  fragments,  although  the  Pars!  tradition 
claims  that  it  has  been  preserved  entire.  The  Vendidad 
has  often  been  called  the  book  of  the  laws  of  the 
Parsis,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  rules  here  given 
pertain  to  the  laws  of  purification.  The  first  two 
chapters  deal  largely  with  mythical  matter,  and  are 
remnants  of  an  old  epic  and  cosmogonic  literature — 
the  first  dealing  with  the  creation  of  Ahura  and  the 
marring  of  his  work  by  the  evil  principle,  and  the 
second  treating  of  Yima  as  the  founder  of  civilization. 
Three  chapters  of  a  mythical  nature  about  the  origin 
of  medicine  are  placed  at  the  end  of  the  book,  and 
the  nineteenth  Fargard  or  section  treats  of  the  reve- 
lation of  the  law  by  Ahura  to  Zarathustra.  The  other 
seventeen  chapters  deal  largely  with  observances  and 
ceremonies,  although  mythical  fragments  are  occasion- 
ally met  with,  which  have  more  or  less  connection 
with  the  text,  many  of  them,  perhaps,  being  interpo- 
lations of  a  later  date.  About  eight  chapters1  are 

iFrom  the  fifth  to  the  twelfth. 
146 


TEACHINGS   OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.     147 

devoted  to  the  impurity  of  the  dead  and  the  method 
of  dispelling  it ;  this  subject  is  also  treated  in  other 
Fargards,  while  two  long  sections  are  devoted  to  the 
care  of  the  dog,  the  food  which  is  due  him  and  the 
penalties  for  offenses  against  him.1  The  apparent  lack 
of  order  is,  perhaps,  largely  due  to  the  form  of  ex- 
pression which  was  adopted  by  the  first  composers  of 
the  Yendldad.  The  law  is  revealed  by  Ahura  in  a 
series  of  answers,  which  are  given  in  reply  to  the  ques- 
tions of  Zarathustra,  and  as  these  queries  are  not  of 
a  general  character,  but  refer  to  details,  the  matter  is 
presented  in  fragments,  each  of  which  (consisting  of 
a  question  with  its  answer)  appears  as  an  independent 
passage. 

FARGARD    II. 

This  is  the  most  poetical  chapter  in  the  work,  and 
is  devoted  to  Yima.  Ahura  here  proposes  that  Yima, 
the  son  of  Vivanghat,  shall  receive  the  law  from  him 
and  carry  it  to  men.  Yima,  however,  refuses  to  do 
so,  whereupon  Ahura  gives  him  a  commission,  bidding 
him  to  keep  his  qreatures  and  make  them  prosper. 
Yima,  therefore,  makes  the  creatures  of  Ahura  to 
thrive  and  increase,  keeps  death  and  disease  away  from 
them,  and  three  times  enlarges  the  earth,  which  had 
become  too  small  for  its  inhabitants.  On  the  approach 
of  a  dreadful  winter,  which  was  to  destroy  every  liv- 
ing thing,  Yima,  being  advised  by  Ahura,  built  a  Vara 
to  preserve  the  seed  of  all  animal  and  vegetable  life, 
and  there  the  blessed  still  live  happily  under  his  rule. 

i  When  a  dog  dies  his  spirit  passes  to  Ardvi  Sura,  the  goddess  of  the 
living  waters  that  pour  into  the  celestial  sea.  The  penalty  for  frightening 
a  pregnant  dog  was  from  ten  to  two  hundred  stripes. 


148  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

The  world,  after  lasting  a  long  year  of  twelve  millen- 
niums, was  to  end  in  a  dire  winter,  to  be  followed 
by  an  everlasting  spring,  when  men,  being  sent  back 
to  earth  from  the  heavens,  should  enjoy  upon  the 
earth  the  same  happiness  which  they  had  found  after 
death  in  the  realms  of  Yima.  But  when  a  more  defi- 
nite form  was  taken  by  the  Mazdean  cosmology  the 
world  was  made  to  end  by  fire,  and  therefore  the  Vara 
of  Yima,  instead  of  remaining  the  paradise  from  which 
the  inhabitants  of  earth  return,  came  to  be  a  compar- 
atively modern  representative  of  Noah's  Ark.  In  the 
Vedas,  Yama  ic  the  first  man,  the  first  priest  and 
"the  first  of  all  who  died";  he  brought  worship  here 
below,  as  well  as  life,  and  "  first  he  stretched  out  the 
thread  of  sacrifice." 

Yima  had  at  first  the  same  right  as  his  Hindu 
prototype  to  the  title  of  a  founder  of  religion,  but  he 
lost  it,  as  in  the  course  of  the  development  of  Maz- 
deism,  Zarathustra  became  the  law-giver.  Zarathustra 
asked  of  Ahura  Mazda  : 

"  Who  was  the  first  mortal  before  myself,  Zarathus- 
tra, 

With  whom  thou,  Ahura  Mazda,  did'st  converse  ? 
To  whom  did'st  thou  teach  the  law  of  Ahura  ? " 

Ahura  answered  : 

"  The  fair  Yima,  the  great  shepherd, 
0  holy  Zarathustra! 
He  was  the  first  mortal  before  thee 
With  whom  I,  Ahura  Mazda,  did  converse — 
Whom  I  taught  the  law  of  Ahura — 
The  law  of  Zarathustra. 


TEACHINGS  OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.      149 

"Unto  him,  0  Zarathustra, 

I,  Ahura  Mazda,  spake,  saying : 

'  Fair  Yima,  son  of  Vlvanghat, 

Be  thou  the  bearer  of  my  law/ 

But  the  fair  Yima  replied, 

'I  was  not  born,  I  was  not  taught 

To  be  the  preacher  and  the  bearer  of  thy  law/ 

Then  I,  Ahura  Mazda,  said  thus  unto  him  : 

'Since  thou  wantest  not  to  be  my  preacher 

And  the  bearer  of  my  law, 

Then  make  thou  my  worlds  to  thrive — 

Make  my  worlds  increase ; 

Undertake  thou  to  nourish,  to  rule 

And  to  watch  over  my  world/ 

And  the  fair  Yima  replied  unto  me : 

'Yes,  I  will  make  thy  worlds  thrive — 

I  will  make  thy  worlds  increase — 

Yes,  I  will  nourish  and  rule 

And  watch  over  thy  world/ 

Then  I,  Ahura  Mazda, 

Brought  the  implements  unto  him, 

A  golden  ring  and  a  poniard 

Inlaid  with  gold,1 

Behold  here  Yima  bears  the  royal  sway." 

Thus,   under    the    sway  of   Yima,    three   hundred 

winters  passed  away, 
And    the    earth  was    replenished   with   flocks    and 

herds, 
With    men,    and    dogs    and    birds,   and   with    red 

blazing  fires, 

i  As  the  symbol  and  instrument  of  sovereignty.    He  reigned  supreme 
by  the  strength  of  the  ring  and  of  the  poniard. 


150  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

'Till  there  was  no  more  room  for  flocks  and  herds 

and  men. 
Then   Yima  stepped  forward  toward  the  luminous 

space 
To  meet  the   sun,  and    he  pressed  the  earth  with 

the  golden  ring 

And  bored  it  with  the  poniard,  saying,  thus: 
"  0  Spenta  Armaiti,1  kindly  open  asunder,  and 

stretch  thyself  afar 
To  bear  flocks  and  herds  and  men." 

And  Yima  made  the  earth  grow  larger  by  one-third 
than  it  was  before,  and  there  came  flocks  and  herds 
and  men,  at  his  will,  as  many  as  he  wished. 

THE  VARA   OF   YIMA. 

Ahura  Mazda  then  called  a  council  of  the  gods, 
and  here  he  spake  to  Yima  saying,  "Upon  the  ma- 

i  Spenta  Armaiti  is  a  general  name  for  heavenly  counsellors,  and  they 
represent  also  the  genii  of  the  earth  and  waters.  Under  Ahura  were  six 
Amesha  Spentas,  which  were  at  first  mere  personifications  of  virtues  and 
moral  powers,  but  as  their  lord  and  father  ruled  over  the  whole  world,  in 
later  times  they  took  each  a  part  of  the  world  under  especial  care.  The 
dominion  of  the  trees  and  waters  was  rested  in  Haurvatad  and  Ameretad, 
or  Health  and  Immortality;  here  we  find  the  influence  of  the  old  Indo- 
Iranian  formula?,  in  which  waters  and  trees  were  invoked  as  the  springs 
of  health  and  life.  Perfect  Sovereignty  had  molten  brass  for  his  emblem, 
as  the  god  in  the  storm  established  his  empire  by  means  of  that  "molten 
brass,"  the  fire  of  lightning,  and  he  thus  became  the  king  of  metals  in 
general.  Asha  Vahista,  the  holy  order  of  the  world,  as  maintained  chiefly 
by  the  sacrificial  fire,  became  the  genius  of  fire.  Armaiti  seems  to  have 
become  a  goddess  of  the  earth  as  early  as  the  Indo-Iranian  period,  and 
Vohu-mano.  or  Good  Thought,  had  the  living  creation  left  to  his  superin- 
tendence. These  Amesha  Spentas  projected,  as  it  were,  out  of  themselves 
as  many  demons  who  were  hardly  more  than  inverted  images  of  the  gods 
they  were  to  oppose;  for  instance.  Health  and  Immortality  were  opposed 
by  Sickness  and  Decay,  but  these  very  demons  were  changed  into  the 
rulers  of  hunger  and  thirst  when  they  came  in  contact  with  the  genii  of 
the  waters  and  the  trees.  Vohu-mano.  or  Good  Thought,  was  reflected  in 
Evil  Thought,  and  after  these  came  the  symmetrical  armies  of  numberless 
gods  and  fiends.—  Darmesteter  in  Sa.  Bks.  E. 


TEACHINGS  OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA,   CONCLUDED.     151 

terial  earth  the  fatal  winters  are  going  to  fall  that 
shall  make  the  snow-flakes  thick  and  deep  on  the 
peaks  of  the  highest  mountains,  and  all  the  beasts 
shall  perish  that  live  in  the  wilderness,  and  those 
that  live  on  the  mountains,  and  those  that  live  in 
the  bosom  of  the  vale.  Therefore  make  thee  a  Vara, 
long  as  a  riding-ground  on  every  side  of  the  square, 
to  be  an  abode  for  men  and  a  fold  for  flocks. 
There  thou  ishalt  make  the  waters  flow,  there  thou 
shalt  settle  birds  by  the  evergreen  banks  that  bear 
the  never-failing  food.  There  shalt  thou  establish 
dwelling  places  and  bring  the  greatest,  the  best  and 
the  finest  of  the  earth,  both  men  and  women;  thou 
shalt  bring  the  animals,  and  the  seeds  of  the  trees, 
two  of  every  kind  to  be  kept  there,  so  long  as  men 
shall  stay  in  the  Vara." 

And  Yima  made  a  Vara,  and  brought  into  it  all 
the  varieties  of  cattle  and  of  plants,  and  the  men  in 
the  Vara  which  Yima  made,  live  the  happiest  life,1 
and  he  who  brought  the  law  of  Ahura  into  the  Vara 
was  the  bird  Karsipta.  And  Yima  sealed  up  the  Vara 
with  the  golden  ring,  and  he  made  a  door  and  a 
window  which  was  self-shining  within.  And  Ahura 
Mazda  said  "There  the  stars,  the  moon  and  the  sun, 
only  once  a  year  seem  to  rise  and  set,  and  the  year 
seems  only  a  day." 

THE   LAWS   OF    PURIFICATION. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  Vendldad  is  devoted  to  a 
description,  with  numberless  repetitions,  of  the  Mazdean 

i  According  to  the  hymns  of  the  Rig-veda,  "  Yama  the  king,  the  gath- 
erer of  the  people,  has  descried  a  path  for  many  which  leads  from  the 


152  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

laws  of  purification  and  the  long  ceremonies  pertaining 
to  them.  Impurity  or  uncleanness  may  be  described 
as  the  condition  of  a  person  or  thing  that  is  possessed 
of  a  demon,  and  the  process  of  purification  is  for  the 
purpose  of  expelling  the  evil  presence.  Death  is  the 
triumph  of  the  demon,  and  therefore  it  is  the  principal 
cause  of  uncleanness;  when  a  man  dies,  as  soon  as  the 
soul  has  left  the  body,  the  Druj  Nasu,  or  Corpse- 
Druj,  comes  from  the  regions  of  hell,  and  falls  upon 
the  body,  and  whoever  thereafter  touches  the  corpse  is 
not  only  unclean  himself,  but  every  one  whom  he 
touches  is  also  unclean. 

The  Druj  is  expelled  from  the  dead  by  the  Sag- 
did,  or  "the  look  of  the  dog;"  "a  four-eyed  dog/'  or 
"a  white  one  with  yellow  ears/'  must  be  brought 
near  the  body,  and  made  to  look  upon  the  dead,  and 
as  soon  as  he  has  done  so  the  Druj  hastens  back  to 
hell. l  The  Druj  is  expelled  from  the  living  by  a  pro- 
cess which  is  too  revolting  for  description.  The  cere- 
monies are  accompanied  by  the  constant  repetition  of 
spells  like  the  following:  "Perish,  0  fiendish  Druj! 
Perish,  0  brood  of  the  fiend!  Rush  away,  0  Druj! 
Perish  away  to  the  regions  of  the  north,  never  more 
to  give  unto  death  the  living  world." 

The  feeling  out  of  which  these  ceremonies  grew 
was  not  original  with  Mazdeism;  the  Hindu  also  con- 
sidered himself  in  danger  while  burning  the  corpse, 

depths  to  the  heights;  he  first  found  out  a  resting  place  from  which  no- 
body can  turn  out  the  occupants;  on  the  way  the  forefathers  have  gone, 
the  sons  will  follow  them/'— Rig-veda,  X,  14,  1,  2. 

i  The  Druj  went  back  to  hell  in  the  shape  of  a  fly.  The  fly  that  came 
to  smell  of  a  dead  body  was  thought  to  be  a  corpse-spirit  that  came  to 
take  possession  of  the  dead  in  the  name  of  Ahriman. 


TEACHINGS   OF   THE    ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.      153 

and     he   cried    aloud,      "  Away,   go   away,    0    Death! 
injure  not  our  sons  and  our  men."1 

The  Parsls,  not  being  able  to  find  a  four-eyed  dog, 
interpreted  the  law  to  mean  a  dog  with  two  spots 
above  the  eyes,  while  in  practice  they  are  still  less 
particular,  and  the  Sag-did  may  be  performed  by  a 
house-dog,  or  by  a  dog  four  months  old.  As  birds  of 
prey  are  fiend-smiters  as  well  as  the  dog,  the  devotee 
may  claim  their  services  when  there  is  no  dog  at 
hand.  The  four-eyed  dog,  which  the  ceremony  origi- 
nally called  for,  is  doubtless  a  reproduction  of  "the 
four-eyed  dogs  of  the  tawny  breed  of  Saramii,"  be- 
longing to  Yama,2  which  guard  the  realms  of  death  in 
Hindu  mythology.  The  identity  of  the  four-eyed  dog 
of  the  Parsls  with  the  dogs  of  Yama  is  confirmed  by 
the  tradition  that  the  yellow-eared  dog  watches  at  the 
head  of  the  Chinvat  bridge,  and,  as  the  souls  of  the 
faithful  pass  over,  he  barks  to  drive  away  the  fiend 
who  would  drag  them  down  to  hell.  Wherever  a  corpse 
is  carried,  death  walks  beside  it  all  the  way,  from  the 
house  to  the  last  resting-place,  and  the  fatal  presence 
constantly  threatens  the  living  who  are  near  the  path- 
way. 

DISPOSITION    OF  THE    DEAD. 

As  the  centre  of  contagion  is  in  the  corpse,  it  must 
be  disposed  of  in  such  a  way  that  death  may  not  be 
spread  abroad.  The  old  Indo-European  customs  have 
in  this  respect  been  completely  changed  by  Mazdeism. 
The  corpse  was  formerly  either  burned  or  buried;  both 
of  these  customs,  however,  are  held  to  be  sacreligious 

1  Rig-veda,  X,  18,  1.  2  Hindu  Literature,  p.  35.. 


154  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

in  the  Avesta.  The  elements,  fire,  earth,  and  water,  are 
holy,  and  even  during  the  Indo-Iranian  period  they 
were  already  so  considered,  being  represented  in  the 
Vedas  as  objects  of  worship.  But  this  did  not  prevent 
the  Hindus  from  burning  their  dead,  and  the  dead  man 
was  really  considered  as  a  traveler  to  the  other  world, 
while  the  kindly  fire  was  supposed  to  carry  him  on 
flashing  pinions  to  his  heavenly  abode.  The  funeral 
fire,  like  that  of  the  sacrifice,  was  the  god  that  goes 
from  earth  to  heaven,  the  mediator  most  friendly  to 
man. 

In  Persia,  however,  it  remained  more  distant  from 
him  and  represented  the  purest  offspring  of  the  good 
spirit;  therefore  no  uncleanness  could  be  allowed  to 
enter  it.  Its  only  function  appears  to  be  the  repelling 
of  the  fiends  by  its  blaze.  In  every  place  where  the 
Parsis  are  settled,  an  everlasting  fire  is  still  kept, 
which  is  always  fed  by  perfumes  and  costly  woods,  and 
wherever  its  flames  are  carried  by  the  wind,  it  kills 
thousand  of  fiends.  No  degradation  must  be  inflicted 
upon  this  sacred  element,  even  blowing  it  with  the 
human  breath  is  a  crime,  because  the  outgoing  breath 
is  unclean ;  burning  the  dead  is  therefore  the  most 
criminal  act ;  in  the  time  of  Strabo  l  it  was  a  capital 
crime,  and  the  Avesta  places  it  in  the  list  of  sins  for 
which  there  is  no  atonement. 

Water  was  looked  upon  in  the  same  light,  and  throw- 
ing dead  matter  into  it  was  as  unpardonable  as  to 
pollute  the  sacred  flame  with  its  presence.  The  Magi 
are  said  to  have  overthrown  a  king  for  having  built 
bath-houses,  and  the  Jews  were  forbidden  to  practice 

1  Strabo  XV,  14;  Herod.  I,  138. 


TEACHINGS   OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.      155 

their  ablutions ;  in  some  cases  the  sick  were  even  for- 
bidden to  drink  it,  unless  it  was  decided  that  death 
would  be  caused  by  longer  abstinence.  The  earth  was 
equally  holy,  for  in  her  bosom  there  dwelt  Spenta 
Armaiti,  the  goddess  of  the  earth,  and  to  defile  her 
sacred  dwelling  by  burying  the  dead  was  also  a  deed  for 
which  there  was  no  atonement. 

In  earlier  times  the  Persians  practiced  burial  even 
after  burning  had  been  forbidden.  Cambyses  aroused 
the  national  indignation  by  cremating  the  body  of 
Amasis,  and  years  later  the  Persians  were  still  burying 
their  dead.  Afterward,  however,  when  the  Mazdean 
law  became  dominant,  the  worship  of  the  earth  was  in- 
cluded, although  it  was  sometime  before  it  was  con- 
sidered as  sacred  as  fire  and  water.  In  later  times  the 
Persians  builded  Dakhmas,  or  "Towers  of  Silence"  for 
the  bodies  of  their  dead  ;  these  towers  were  about 
twenty  feet  high,  and  they  enclosed  an  annular  stone 
pavement  on  which  the  bodies  were  placed.  These 
towers  were  usually  built  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain 
far  from  the  haunts  of  men.  A  barren  cliff  was  chosen, 
free  from  trees  or  water,  and  the  tower  was  even 
separated  from  the  earth  herself,  for  it  was  isolated  by 
a  layer  of  stones  and  bricks,  while  it  was  claimed  that 
a  golden  thread  ran  between  the  tower  and  the  earth. 
Here,  afar  from  the  world  of  men,  the  dead  were  left 
to  lie  "beholding  the  sun."  The  Avesta  and  com- 
mentary are  especially  emphatic  upon  this  point,  for 
"it  is  as  if  the  dead  man's  life  were  thus  prolonged, 
since  he  can  still  behold  the  sun." 


156  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

PUNISHMENTS. 

The  penalties  for  the  violation  of  the  Persian  law 
were  very  severe,  and  human  life  was  considered  of 
very  little  value,  capital  punishment  being  inflicted 
even  for  the  killing  of  a  dog.  Their  laws  were  far 
more  barbarous  than  those  of  England  in  Sir  William 
Blackstone's  time,  when  one  hundred  and  sixty  of- 
fenses1 were  declared  by  act  of  Parliament  to  be  worthy 
of  instant  death;2  and  death  was  the  most  humane  of 
the  Persian  punishments,  when  it  was  promptly  in- 
flicted, for  their  methods  were  too  terrible  for  de- 
scription. Two  hundred  stripes  were  awarded  if  one 
tilled  land  in  which  a  corpse  had  been  buried  with- 
in a  year,  or  if  the  mother  of  a  very  young  child 
drank  water.  Four  hundred  stripes  were  the  penalty 
if  one  covered  with  a  cloth  a  dead  man's  feet,  and  eight 
hundred  if  he  covered  the  whole  body.  The  penalty 
for  killing  a  puppy  was  five  hundred  stripes,  six  hun- 
dred for  killing  a  stray  clog,  eight  hundred  for  a  shep- 
herd's dog,  and  ten  thousand  stripes  for  killing  a  water- 
dog.3 

In  the  old  Aryan  legislation  there  were  many  crimes 
which  were  considered  more  criminal  than  murder,  and 
Persians  who  defiled  the  earth  were  not  more  severely 
punished  than  were  the  Greeks  who  defiled  the  ground 
of  Delos,  nor  would  the  Athenians,  who  put  Atarbes 

1  The  Mosaic  law  mentions  only  seventeen  crimes  as   being  worthy  of 
capital  puiiishmeut. 

2  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  IV,  4. 15,  18. 

s  Says  Prof.  Darmesteter:  "  It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  murder  of  a 
water-dog  could  actually  have  been  punished  with  ten  thousand  stripes 
unless  we  suppose  that  human  endurance  was  different  in  ancient  Persia 
from  what  it  is  elsewhere;  in  the  time  of  Chardin  the  number  of  stripes  in- 
flicted on  the  guilty  never  exceeded  three  hundred  ;  in  the  old  German  law, 
two  hundred  ;  in  the  Mosaic  law,  forty."— Sa.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  IV,  p.  99,  Int. 


TEACHINGS   OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.      157 

to  death,  have  wondered  at  the  awful  punishment  in- 
flicted for  the  killing  of  the  Persian  water-dog.  There 
are  but  few  laws  in  the  Vendidad,  however  absurd, 
that  may  not  find  a  counterpart  in  the  legislation  of 
the  Greeks  or  Latins. 

Every  crime,  according  to  the  Persian  law,  makes  the 
guilty  man1  liable  to  two  penalties,  one  here  on  earth 
and  another  in  the  next  world,  but  in  ancient  Persia, 
as  in  modern  legislation,  there  was  a  money  value 
attached  to  many  crimes,  and  the  rich  criminal  es- 
caped by  paying  his  fine,  so  far  as  this  present  world 
was  concerned.  In  the  next,  however,  his  money  is  of 
no  value  to  him  ;  when  he  comes  to  the  head  of  Chin- 
vat  bridge,  his  conscience  becomes  a  maiden,  either 
of  divine  beauty,  or  of  fiendish  deformity,  according 
to  his  merits.  The  bridge  itself,  which  reaches  over 
the  awful  chasm  of  hell  to  the  heavenly  shore  on  the 
other  side,  widens,  if  he  be  a  good  man,  to  the  width 
of  nine  javelins  ;  but  for  the  souls  of  the  wicked  it 
narrows  to  a  thread  and  they  fall  down  into  hell. 

THE    PLACE   OF   REWARD. 

"0,  Maker  of  the  material  world!  where  are  the 
rewards  given?  where  does  the  rewarding  take  place?" 

Ahura  Mazda  answered  :  "  When  the  man  is  dead, 
when  his  time  is  over,  then  the  hellish  evil-doing 

i  The  penalties  for  uncleanness  in  men  were  far  more  severe  upon 
woman  ;  after  giving  birth  to  a  child  she  was  forbidden  to  taste  of  water, 
as  her  touch  would  defile  the  element,  and  at  times  her  food  was  handed 
to  her  upon  a  long-handled  spoon.  Woman  was  made  a  creature  of  con- 
tract, and  disposed  of  by  a  bill  of  sale;  like  land  or  cattle,  she  was  classed 
under  "the  fifth  contract,"  being  considered  more  valuable  than  cattle, 
but  far  cheaper  than  real  estate.  They  were  sometimes  sold  in  the  cradle 
and  often  when  only  two  or  three  years  of  age. —  See  Doxabhoy  Framjee'ti 
work  on  The  Parsis,  p.  77. 


158  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Daevas  assail  him;  and  when  the  third  night  is  gone— 
when  the  dawn  appears  and  brightens  up,  and  makes 
Mithra,  the  god  with  the  beautiful  weapons,  reach  the 
all-happy  mountains,  and  the  sun  is  rising.  Then  the 
fiend  carries  off  in  bonds l  the  souls  of  the  wicked,  who 
live  in  sin.  The  soul  enters  the  way  made  by  Time, 
and  open  both  to  the  wicked  and  the  righteous.  At 
the  head  of  the  Chinvat  bridge,  the  holy  bridge  made 
by  Mazda,  they  ask  for  the  reward  for  the  goods 
which  they  have  given  away  here  below.  Then  comes 
the  well-shapen,  strong  and  noble  maiden,  with  the 
dogs  (that  keep  the  Chinvat  bridge)  at  her  side — she 
is  graceful  and  of  high  understanding. 

She  makes  the  soul  of  the  righteous  one  to  go  up 
above  the  Hara-berezaita;  above  the  Chinvat  bridge  she 
places  it  in  the  presence  of  the  heavenly  gods  them- 
selves; Yohu-mano  from  his  golden  seat  exclaims, 
'How  hast  thou  come  to  us,  thou  holy  one,  from 
that  decaying'  world  into  this  undecaying  one  ?  Gladly 
pass  the  souls  of  the  righteous  to  the  golden  seat  of 
Ahura  Mazda — to  the  abode  of  all  the  other  holy 


THE   VISPARAD. 

The  word  Visparad  means  "  all  the  chiefs,"  refer- 
ring to  "the  lords  of  the  ritual,"  therefore  the  vari- 
ous chapters  are  merely  used  in  the  course  of  the  sac- 
rifice. The  following  extracts  will  give  the  reader  a 
definite  idea  concerning  the  literary  merit  of  this  por- 
tion of  the  Zend-Avesta: 

J  Every  one  has  a  noose  cast  around  his  neck;  when  a  man  dies,  if  he 
is  righteous,  the  noose  falls  from  his  neck  ;  but  if  wicked,  they  drag  him 
with  that  noose  down  to  hell.— (Farg.,  V,  8.) 

2  Fargard,  xix,  27-32. 


TEACHINGS   OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA,    CONCLUDED.     159 

In  this  Zaothra,  with   this   Baresman, 

I  desire  to  approach  the  lords  of  the  ritual 

Which  are  spiritual  with  my  praise; 

And  I  desire  to   approach   the  earthly  lords  as  well. 

And  I  desire  to  approach  the  lords  of  the  water  with 

my  praise 

And  the  lords  of  the  land; 
And  I  desire  to  approach  with  my  praise, 
Those  chiefs  which  strike  the  wing, 
And  those  that  wander  wild  at  large, 
And  those  of  the  cloven  hoof,  who  are  chiefs  of  the 

ritual. 

And  in  this  Zaothra  with  this   Baresman, 

I  desire  to  approach  thee,  Zarathustra  Spitama,     .    '* 

I  desire  to    approach   the  man   who  recites  the  ritual 

rites 

Who  is  maintaining  thus  the  thought,  well  thought, 
And  the  word  well  spoken,  and  the  deed  well  done. 
I  desire  to  approach  the  seasons  with  my  praise 
The  holy  lords  of  the  ritual  order,     .... 
And   I  desire    to  approach   those    mountains  with   my 

praise, 

Which  shine  with  holiness,  abundantly  glorious, 

And  Mithra  of  the  wide  pastures, 

And  I  desire  to  approach  the  question, 

Asked  of  Ahura,  and  the  lore  of  the  lord — 

And  the  farm-house  of  the  man   possessed  of  pastures, 

And  the  pasture  produced  for  the  kine  of  blessed  gift, 

And  the  holy  cattle-breeding  man. 


160  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

And  we  worship  the  fire  here,  Ahura  Mazda's  son, 

And  the  Izads,  having  the  seed  of  fire  in  them; 

And  we  worship   the  Fravishas  of  the  saints 

And  we  worship  Sraosha  who  smites  to  victory 

And  the  holy  man,  and  the  entire  creation  of  the  clean. 
********* 

And  we  sacrifice  to  the  fields  and  the  waters.     ..    .    , 

We  take  up  our  homage  to  the  good  waters, 

And  to  the  fertile  fruit-trees, 

And  the  Fravishas  of  the  saints,  and  to  the  kine. 

And    we    sacrifice    to  that    listening,    that    hears    our 

prayers, 

And  to  that  mercy,  and  to  the  hearing  of  our  homage, 
And  to  that  mercy  shown  in  response  to  our  praise, 
And  we  sacrifice  to  that  good  praise  which  is  without 

hypocrisy. 

And  which  has  no  malice  as  its  end. 

********* 

With  this  chant  fully  chanted, 
And  which  is  for  the  Bountiful  Immortals 
And  by  means  of  these  ceremonial  actions, 
We  desire  to  utter  our  supplications  for  the  kine. 
It  is  that  chant  which  the  saint  has  recognized 
As  good  and  fruitful  of  blessed  gifts, 
And  which  the  sinner  does  not  know. 
May  we  never  reach  that  misfortune 
That  the  sinner  may  outstrip  us  in  our  chanting. 
Nor  in  the  matter  of  the  plan  thought  out, 
Or  in  words  delivered,  or  ceremonies  done, 
Nor  yet  in  any  offering  whatever,  when  he  approaches 
us  for  harm.1 

i  Visparad,  II,  V,  XVI,  XXII. 


TEACHINGS   OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA.    CONCLUDED.      161 
TEACHING    OF   THE   MODERN    PARSlS. 

This  resume  of  the  ancient  books  will  be  closed  by 
a  brief  explanation  of  their  faith  in  Dualism,  as  given 
by  some  learned  Indian  Parsis  of  Bombay  to  Sir  M. 
Monier- Williams  during  his  stay  in  India.  In  speaking 
of  the  Dualism  of  Zoroaster,  as  understood  in  modern 
times,  Prof.  Williams  says : 

"  The  explanation  given  to  me  was  that  Zoroaster, 
although  a  believer  in  one  Supreme  Being,  and  a 
teacher  of  Monotheism,  set  himself  to  account  for  the 
existence  of  evil,  which  could  not  have  its  source  in 
an  all-wise  Creator. 

He  therefore  taught  that  two  opposite — but  not  op- 
posing, forces,  which  he  calls  'twins,'  were  inherent 
in  the  nature  of  the  Supreme  Being,  called  by  him 
Ahiira  Mazda  (or  in  Persian  Ormazd),  and  emanated 
from  that  Being,  just  as  in  Hinduism,  Vishnu  and 
Siva  emanate  from  the  Supreme  Brahma.  These  two 
forces  were  set  in  motion  by  Ahura  Mazda,  as  his  ap- 
pointed mode  of  maintaining  the  continuity  of  the 
Universe. 

The  one  was  constructive,  the  other  destructive. 

One  created  and  composed.  The  other  disintegrated 
and  decomposed,  but  only  to  co-operate  with  the  crea- 
tive principle  by  providing  fresh  material  for  the  work 
of  re-composition. 

Hence  there  could  be  no  new  life  without  death, 
no  existence  without  non-existence. 

Hence,  also,  according  to  Zoroaster,  there  was  origin- 
ally no  really  antagonistic  force  of  evil  opposed  to  good. 

The  creative  energy  was  called  Ahura  Mazda's  bene- 
ficent spirit  (Spento-Mainyus),  and  the  destructive 


162  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

force  was  called  his  maleficent  spirit  (Angro-Mainyus, 
afterwards  corrupted  into  Ahriman),  but  only  because 
the  idea  of  evil  is  connected  with  dissolution. 

The  two  spirits  were  merely  antagonistic  in  name. 

They  were  in  reality  co-operative  and  mutually 
helpful. 

They  were  essential  to  the  alternating  processes  of 
construction  and  dissolution,  through  which  the  cos- 
mical  being  was  perpetuated. 

The  only  real  antagonism  was  that  alternately 
brought  about  by  the  free  agent,  man,  who  could  has- 
ten the  work  of  destruction,  or  retard  the  work  of 
construction  by  his  own  acts. 

It  is  therefore  held,  that  the  so-called  dualistic  doc- 
trines of  Zoroaster  were  compatible  with  the  absolute 
unity  of  the  one  God  (symbolized  especially  by  fire). 

Ultimately,  however,  Zoroastrianism  crystallized  into 
a  hard  and  uncompromising  dualism.  That  is  to  say, 
in  process  of  time,  Spento-Mainyus  bscame  merely  an- 
other name  for  Ahura  Mazda,  as  the  eternal  principle 
of  good,  while  Angro-Mainyus  or  Ahriman  became 
altogether  dissociated  from  Ahura  Mazda,  and  con- 
verted into  an  eternal  principle  of  evil. 

These  two  principles  are  believed  to  be  the  sources 
of  two  opposite  creations  which  were  incessantly  at 
war. 

On  the  one  side  is  a  celestial  hierarchy,  at  the  head 
of  which  is  Ormazd;  on  the  other  side,  a  demoniacal, 
at  the  head  of  which  is  Ahriman.  They  are  opposed 
to  each  other  as  light  to  darkness — as  falsehood  to 
truth. 

The  whole  energy  of   a   religious   Indian    Pars!    is 


TEACHINGS,    OF  THE   ZEND-AVESTA   CONCLUDED.     163 

concentrated  on  the  endeavor  to  make  himself — so  to 
speak — demon-proof,  and  this  can  only  be  accom- 
plished by  absolute  purity  (in  thought,  word  and 
deed),  symbolized  by  whiteness.  He  is  ever  on  his 
guard  against  bodily  defilement,  and  never  goes  out  to 
his  daily  occupation,  without  first  putting  on  a  sacred 
white  shirt  and  a  sacred  white  girdle.  Even  the  most 
highly  educated  and  Anglicized  Piirsis  are  most  rig- 
orous observers  of  this  custom,  though  it  is  probable 
that  their  real  creed  has  little  in  common  with  the  old 
and  superstitious  belief  in  demons  and  evil  spirits, 
but  rather  consists  in  a  kind  of  cold  and  monotheistic 
pantheism. 

How  far  Zoroastrian  dualism  had  affected  the  relig- 
ion of  the  Babylonians  at  the  time  of  the  Jewish  cap- 
tivity is  doubtful,  but  that  the  Hebrew  prophets  of 
those  days  had  to  contend  with  dualistic  ideas  seems 
probable  from  these  words :  '  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there 
is  none  else.  I  form  the  light  and  create  darkness ;  I 
make  peace  and  create  evil.  I  the  Lord  do  all  these 
things.' l  The  New  Testament,  on  the  other  hand, 
might  be  thought  by  a  superficial  reader  to  lend  some 
support  to  dualistic  doctrines.  ...  I  need  scarcely 
point  out,  however,  that  the  Bible  account  of  the  or- 
igin, nature,  and  destiny  of  Satan  and  his  angels  dif- 
fers, toto  ccelo  from  the  Zoroastrian  description  of  Ah- 
riman  and  his  host.  Nor  need  I  add  that  the  various 
monistic,  pantheistic,  and  dualistic  theories,  briefly 
alluded  to  in  this  paper,  are  utterly  at  variance  with 
the  Christian  doctrine  of  a  Personal,  Eternal  and  Infi- 
nite Being,  existing  and  working  outside  man,  and 

i  Isaiah  xlv,  6. 


164  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

outside  the  material  universe,  which  He  has  Himself 
created,  and  controlling  both,  and  in  the  case  of  hu- 
man beings,  working  not  only  outside  man,  but  in 
and  through  him."1 

i  Sir  M.  Monier- Williams,  Trans.  yic.  Ins.,  Vol.  XXV,  p.  10. 


DIVISION   III. 

THE  TIME  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  CONQUEST 
AND  THE  KORAN. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  KORAN. 

SUCCESSOR  OF  THE  ZEND-AVESTA  —  AUTHOR  OF  THE 
KORAN  —  FIRST  REVELATIONS  —  THE  HIGRAH  —  CON- 
TINUED WARFARE  —  DEATH  OF  MOHAMMED — RECEN- 
SION OF  THE  TEXT — TEACHING  OF  THE  KORAN  — 
HEAVEN  —  HELL  —  PREDESTINATION  —  POLYGAMY  — 
LITERARY  STYLE  OF  THE  KORAN. 

THE  Koran  or  Quran  l  was  the  immediate  succes- 
sor of  the  Zend-Avesta  upon  Persian  soil.  When 
the  star  and  crescent  of  the  Arabian  banners  floated 
in  triumph  over  the  land  of  Iran,  and  the  altars  of 
the  Parsls  were  stricken  down,  when  the  people  them- 
selves were  either  driven  from  their  native  land  or  hu- 
miliated by  their  conquerors,  then  the  new  creed  sup- 
planted the  old,  and  the  war-cry  of  Islam  became  the 

iThe  word  Qur'an,  a  reading,  comes  from  the  verb  "qara'a,  "to  read." 
It  is  also  called  El  Forqan,  "  the  discrimination,"  a  word  borrowed  from 
the  Hebrew.  It  is  also  designated  by  the  words  El  Mus-haf,  volume,  or 
El  Kitab,  the  book. 

165 


166  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

watchword  of  the  new  faith.1  By  methods  peculiarly 
their  own,  the  invaders  set  up  the  standard  of  their 
prophet,  and  his  law  became  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  Arabian  peninsula  extends  southward  from  Bab- 
ylonia and  Syria  down  to  the  Indian  Ocean ;  its  east- 
ern coast  is  washed  by  the  waves  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
while  the  western  boundary  forms  the  shore  of  the 
Eed  Sea.  The  low  lands  on  these  shores  lie  at  the 
feet  of  barren  ranges  of  hills,  which  lead  upward  from 
the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea  to  the  highlands  beyond 
them.  This  rugged  frontier  was  the  barrier  from 
whence  the  desert  tribes  had  effectually  resisted  the 
attacks  of  the  nations  who  fought  around  them  for 
the  dominion  of  the  Orient.  Persia,  Egypt  and  Rome 
had  each  unsuccessfully  tried  to  penetrate  this  rocky 
fortress  of  Arabia  and  conquer  its  hardy  defenders. 
Although  the  Arabs  were  mostly  a  nomadic  race,  whose 
wealth  consisted  largely  of  camels  and  horses,  still  their 
country  contained  cities  and  towns,  and  of  these  the 
most  important  were  Mecca  and  Medina,  where  the 
creed  of  Islam  found  its  early  home. 

The  religion  of  the  Arabs  was  Sabaenism,  or  the 
worship  of  the  host  of  heaven,  but  in  the  time  of 
Mohammed  the  comparatively  simple  star-worship  had 
been  greatly  corrupted,  and  countless  superstitious  rites 
and  practices  had  been  introduced.  The  wandering 
Arabs  had  peopled  the  desert  wastes  with  imaginary 
beings,  and  they  fancied  that  every  rock  and  cavern 
— every  stream  in  the  oasis — and  every  palm  tree  had 
its  presiding  genius. 

i  The  chronology  of  this  conquest  is  in  many  points  uncertain,  as  the 
accounts  differ.  The  most  important  event,  however,  in  the  long  war  was 
the  battle  of  Nehawend,  which  took  place  probably  about  A.  D.  641. 


THE    KORAN.  167 

The  vast  solitudes,  with  their  terrible  stillness — the 
simoon  and  the  sand  column — the  breaking  of  a  storm 
on  a  distant  mountain,  and  the  change  of  a  dry  ravine 
into  a  rushing  torrent — these  and  other  surroundings 
produced  a  strong  effect  upon  the  vivid  imaginations 
of  the  children  of  the  desert ;  and  at  last  their  pan- 
theon contained  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  idols. 

When,  therefore,  the  voice  of  Mohammed  rang  out 
upon  the  startled  air,  with  the  cry  "  There  is  one  God, 
and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet,"  it  came  as  an  omen 
of  strife  and  bloodshed.  Devotion  to  his  tribe  and  to 
his  gods  being  one  of  the  strongest  characteristics  of 
the  Arab,  innovations  were  fought  against,  with  all 
the  fierceness  of  a  vindictive  race.  A  few  followers 
gathered  around  the  new  prophet,  and  then  began  that 
series  of  conflicts,  which,  after  years  of  fraternal  strife, 
resulted  in  the  triumphant  rule  of  the  new  creed. 

Christianity  had  long  been  partially  established  in 
Arabia,  and  some  of  the  more  important  tribes  had 
embraced  it,  but  neither  Christianity  nor  Judaism  was 
generally  accepted  by  these  restless  sons  of  the  desert; 
the  logic  of  the  sword,  however,  is  an  argument  that 
every  man  can  appreciate,  and  Mohammed  proved  to 
be  a  successful  military  leader,  giving  the  spoils  of 
war  to  his  followers  in  this  world  as  well  as  promises 
of  reward  in  the  next.  Knowing  the  value  of  unity  of 
action  among  his  followers,  he  never  abandoned  his 
designs  upon  Syria,  and  thus  the  turbulent  tribes  of 
the  desert  found  ample  scope  for  their  warlike  pro- 
pensities, while  a  successful  raid  was  always  rewarded 
with  rich  booty.  The  triumphs  of  Islam  were  largely 


168  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

due  to  the  love  of   exciting  raids,   and  the  desire  for 
the  spoils  of  conquest. 

THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  KORAN. 

However  fiercely  the  contest  may  be  waged  around 
the  origin  of  the  Zend  Avesta,  there  is  no  question 
among  scholars  in  relation  to  the  authorship  of  its 
successor.  The  individual  portions  of  the  Koran  were 
not  always  written  down  immediately,  as  Mohammed 
often  repeated  them  several  times,  sometimes  forgetting 
the  original  statement,  and  sometimes  changing  it ;  he 
says,  however  :  "  Whatever  verse  we  may  annul  or  cause 
thee  to  forget,  we  will  bring  a  better  one  than  it  or  one 
like  it."1  It  is  seriously  questioned  among  the  Arabs 
whether  he  could  read  or  write — one  party  claiming 
that  he  could  and  the  other  maintaining  that  he  could 
not.  On  some  occasions  he  certainly  employed  an 
amanuensis,  and  tradition  claims  that  he  would  fre- 
quently direct  in  which  surah  the  passage  dictated 
should  be  placed.  The  arrangement  of  the  Koran, 
however,  was  left  to  those  who  came  after  him. 

The  exact  date  of  Mohammed's  birth  is  uncertain,2 
but  he  began  life  in  the  shadow  of  poverty;  all  that 
he  inherited  from  his  father  being  five  camels  and  a 
slave  girl.  The  boy  having  lost  his  mother  when  he 
was  only  six  years  old  was  obliged,  in  his  youth,  to 
attend  the  sheep  and  goats  of  the  Meccans  in  order  to 
obtain  a  livelihood,  and  this  position  is  still  considered 
by  the  Bedawm  to  be  very  degrading  to  any  one  ex- 
cept a  woman.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married 
a  rich  widow,  who  was  fifteen  years  his  senior,  and  it 

1  Chap.  II,  v.  100. 

2  It  was  probably  about  A.  D.  571. 


THE   KORAN.  169 

is  said  that  this  marriage  was  eminently  a  happy  one. 
Three  years  after  her  death  he  married  Ayesha,  who 
was  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  she  never  was  jealous 
of  any  of  his  wives  except  the  first.  Six  children  were 
born  of  this  marriage,  two  of  whom  were  sons,  but 
they  died  at  an  early  age. 

FIRST    REVELATIONS. 

Mohammed  had  reached  his  fortieth  year  when  he 
claimed  to  receive  the  first  revelations.  Perhaps  they 
might  be  considered  the  natural  result  of  his  mode  of 
life,  his  habits  of  thought  and  especially  of  his  phys- 
ical condition.  For  many  years  he  had  suffered  from 
nervous  troubles,  and  tradition  claims  that  the  disease 
was  epilepsy.  Medical  men  of  to-day  would,  perhaps, 
be  more  likely  to  diagnose  the  case  as  one  of  the  forms 
of  hysteria,  which  is  often  accompanied  with  halluci- 
nation, and  also  with  a  certain  amount  of  deception, 
both  voluntary  and  otherwise.  Persons  who  were  thus 
afflicted  were  supposed  by  the  Arab  to  be  possessed  by 
an  evil  spirit,  and  the  complaint  is  made  in  various 
places  in  the  Koran  that  he  was  regarded  in  this  light 
by  his  own  people.  His  faithful  wife  Hadi^ah,  how- 
ever, believed  in  him  from  the  first.  The  earlier  chap- 
ters of  the  Koran  are  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  they 
indicate  that  the  author  at  that  time  believed  in  the 
reality  of  his  revelations.  His  daughters  soon  became 
converts  to  his  teachings,  and  they  were  followed  by 
other  relatives  and  friends.  Although  his  first  con- 
verts were  mostly  women  and  slaves,  he  afterward  se- 
cured the  adhesion  of  influential  chiefs.  But  the  new 
faith  incurred  the  open  hostility  of  the  great  majority 


170  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

of  the  Meccans,  and  the  position  of  its  converts  be- 
came critical.  While  the  more  powerful  were  compar- 
atively secure,  the  weaker  ones,  especially  the  slaves 
and  women,  were  severely  persecuted,  and  in  some 
cases  they  suffered  martyrdom. 

The  surroundings  became  so  dangerous  that  Moham- 
med advised  his  little  band  of  followers  to  seek  safety 
in  flight,  and  they  emigrated  to  the  Christian  country 
of  Abyssinia  until  the  colony  there  numbered  about 
one  hundred  souls.  The  Qurais  were  much  annoyed 
by  the  escape  of  the  Muslims,  and  sent  a  deputation 
to  the  king  of  Abyssinia  demanding  the  return  of  the 
fugitives.  The  request  was  refused,  and  the  failure  of 
their  attempt  increased  the  hostility  of  the  Qurais  to- 
ward those  who  still  remained  in  Mecca. 

Being  left  almost  alone,  and  exposed  to  constant 
danger,  Mohammed  conceived  the  idea  of  a  compro- 
mise. The  Qurais  promised  that  if  he  would  recog- 
nize the  divinity  of  their  three  principal  idols — Allat, 
Al  'Huzza  and  Manat,  they  would  acknowledge  him  to 
be  the  apostle  of  Allah.  He,  therefore,  recited  one 
day  before  a  public  assembly,  the  following  words  from 
the  Koran:1  "Have  ye  considered  Allat  and  Al  'Huzza 
and  Manat  the  other  third  ?  "  He  then  added  :  "  They 
are  the  two  high-soaring  cranes,  and  verily  their  inter- 
cession may  be  hoped  for."  When,  therefore,  he  came 
to  the  last  words  of  the  chapter,  "  Adore  God,  then, 
and  worship,"  the  Meccans,  true  to  their  promise,  pros- 
trated themselves  to  the  ground  and  worshipped  as 
they  were  bidden. 

A  great   political   victory  was    thus   gained,  at   the 

i  Chap,  liii,  v.  19-20. 


THE    KORAN.  171 

sacrifice,  however,  of  the  very  principle  that  many  of 
his  followers  had  given  their  lives  to  maintain.  He 
keenly  felt  his  own  humiliation  in  the  matter,  and  on 
the  morrow  he  hastened  to  recant  from  his  new  posi- 
tion, and  condemned  his  own  cowardice  in  a  manly 
way,  declaring  what  he  undoubtedly  believed,  that  the 
words  had  been  put  into  his  mouth  by  Satan.  The 
recantation  brought  upon  him  redoubled  hatred,  and 
at  last  his  whole  family  were  placed  under  a  ban  to 
such  an  extent,  that  they  could  not  join  the  Meccan 
caravans,  and  being  unable  to  equip  one  of  their  own, 
they  lost  their  means  of  livelihood.  At  last  they  took 
refuge,  with  what  few  provisions  they  could  collect,  in 
a  ravine  in  the  mountains,  being  able  to  sally  forth 
for  food  only  during  the  sacred  months,  when  every 
man's  person  and  property  were  safe.  After  two  years 
of  privation  their  foes  became  tired  of  the  restriction 
which  they  had  placed  upon  the  clan,  and  voluntarily 
allowed  the  prisoners  to  mingle  with  the  rest  of  the 
world. 

Mohammed,  however,  again  incurred  the  contempt 
of  the  public  by  adding  another  wife  to  the  three  he 
already  possessed.  It  was  not  the  number  of  his 
household  that  created  the  Arabian  scandal,  but  the 
fact  that  the  new  candidate  for  his  favor  had  been 
divorced  from  her  husband  with  this  object  in  view — 
having  been  surrendered  by  him  when  he  learned  that 
Mohammed  admired  her. 

The  prophet  claimed,  however,  that  he  had  a  reve- 
lation sanctioning  his  conduct  in  this  matter. 


172  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

THE   HI&RAH. 

Between  the  inhabitants  of  Yathrib  and  those  of 
Mecca  there  existed  a  strong  feeling  of  animosity, 
and  therefore  the  former  tribe  were  inclined  to  favor 
the  claims  of  the  new  prophet.  After  some  careful 
negotiations,  the  leaders  espoused  his  cause,  and  the 
persecution  of  the  Qurais  then  became  so  violent  that 
the  followers  of  Mohammed  at  Mecca  fled  from  the 
city.  At  last  there  were  only  three  members  of  the 
new  faith  left  in  the  community,  and  these  were 
Abu  Bekr,  AH  and  Mohammed  himself. 

His  enemies  now  held  a  council  of  war,  and  de- 
cided that  eleven  men,  each  belonging  to  one  of  the 
most  influential  families  in  the  city,  should  simulta- 
neously attack  and  murder  Mohammed,  and  by  thus 
dividing  the  responsibility,  avoid  the  deserved  penalty, 
as  the  clan  of  the  prophet  would  not  be  sufficiently 
powerful  to  avenge  themselves  upon  so  many  families. 
Mohammed,  however,  received  a  warning  of  their  de- 
signs; and  giving  AH  his  mantle,  ordered  him  to 
pretend  to  be  asleep  on  the  couch  usually  occupied 
by  himself,  and  thus  divert  the  attention  of  his 
enemies.  In  the  meantime  Mohammed  and  Abu  Bekr 
escaped  from  a  back  window  in  the  house  of  the  latter, 
and  hid  themselves  in  a  cavern  of  a  mountain  more 
than  a  mile  from  Mecca,  before  their  absence  was 
discovered.  A  vigorous  search  was  at  once  instituted, 
and  for  three  days  they  lay  concealed,  while  tradition 
claims  that  a  spider  wove  a  web  across  the  mouth  of 
the  cave  and  the  pursuers,  thinking  that  no  one  hud 
entered  it,  passed  by  in  their  search. 


THE    KORAN.  173 

At  length  they  ventured  out  once  more,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Yathrib  in  safety.  Here  they 
were  soon  joined  by  AH,  who  had  been  allowed  to 
leave  after  a  few  hours'  imprisonment.  This  was  the 
celebrated  Hi^rah  or  "flight,"  from  which  the  Mo- 
hammedan era  is  dated.1 

As  soon  as  possible  after  he  was  established  at 
Medina,  Mohammed  built  a  mosque  and  proceeded  to 
institute  regular  rites.  He  also  appointed  Bilal.  an 
Abyssinian  slave,  to  call  the  believers  to  five  daily 
prayers.  He  tried  to  conciliate  the  Jews  of  Medina  by 
adapting  his  religion  as  far  as  possible  to  their  own, 
but  when  it  became  evident  that  they  would  never 
accept  him  as  their  prophet,  he  withdrew  his  conces- 
sions, and  instead  of  turning  his  face  toward  Jerusalem 
while  in  prayer,  he  turned  toward  the  Kaabah  at 
Mecca. 

As  soon  as  he  felt  sufficiently  strong,  he  began  to 
agitate  the  idea  of  a  crusade  against  the  city  of  his 
birth,  which  had  compelled  him  to  fly  from  her  bor- 
ders, in  order  to  save  his  life.  After  some  petty  raids 
upon  their  property  he  decided  to  attack  a  rich  cara- 
van which  was  -returning  from  Syria  laden  with  valu- 
able merchandise.  The  returning  Arabians  were,  many 
of  them,  influential  men  of  Mecca,  and  they  sent  a 
swift  messenger  to  the  city  for  aid.  Their  call  was  re- 
sponded to  by  nearly  a  thousand  men,  but  although 
the  contest  was  long  and  bitter,  the  Muslims  won  the 
victory ;  some  of  Mohammed's  bitterest  foes  were  slain, 
many  prisoners  were  captured  and  rich  booty  was 
taken.  Of  the  captives  six  were  executed  by  Moham- 

i  It  took  place  on  June  16,  A.  D.  622. 


174  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

med's  order,  some  embraced  his  views  aud  others  were 
ransomed  by  their  friends. 

This  victory1  gave  Mohammed  so  much  military 
prestige  that  he  lost  no  time  in  following  up  the  ad- 
vantage thus  gained.  The  Jews  were  the  first  people 
upon  whom  his  vengeance  was  visited,  and  his  first 
victim  amongst  them  was  a  woman,  who  was  put  to 
death,  and  soon  afterward  a  whole  Jewish  tribe  was 
attacked,  their  property  confiscated  and  the  people  sent 
into  exile. 

CONTINUED  WARFARE. 

Years  of  bloodshed  followed  the  early  military  tri- 
umphs of  Islamism,  and  the  contest  between  Mecca 
and  Medina  was  continued,  with  varied  results,  until  a 
truce  of  ten  years  was  agreed  upon ; 2  any  of  the  Mec- 
cans  who  chose  to  do  so  were  allowed  to  join  the  ranks 
of  Mohammed,  by  the  conditions  of  the  treaty,  while 
upon  the  other  hand  those  who  preferred  to  leave  him 
and  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Meccans  were  permitted 
to  do  so. 

This  was  a  political  triumph  for  Mohammed,  as  it 
recognized  his  position  as  an  independent  chief,  and  he 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus  given  him  to 
reduce  the  neighboring  tribes  to  submission.  He  also 
wrote  letters  to  the  king  of  Persia,  to  the  Byzantine 
Emperor  and  the  ruler  of  Abyssinia,  ordering  them  to 
embrace  his  faith  and  submit  to  his  rule.  One  fav- 
orable reply  only  was  received,  which  came  from  a 
governor  of  Egypt,  and  he  sent  in  addition  to  other 
presents  two  female  slaves,  one  of  whom  was  a  Coptic 

1  A.  D.  634.  2  About  A.  D.  629. 


THE    KOIiAN.  175 

girl,  whom  Mohammed  added  to  his  already  numerous 
family  of  wives.  The  Muslim  troops  afterward  experi- 
enced a  terrible  defeat  on  the  Syrian  frontier,1  but 
the  prestige  of  the  leader  was  soon  re-established  by 
new  victories  and  the  accession  of  various  tribes.  Two 
years  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  a  tribe  which 
was  under  the  protection  of  Mohammed  was  attacked 
by  a  tribe  which  was  an  ally  of  the  Meccans.  This 
was  a  violation  of  the  compact,  and  Mohammed  gladly 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  thus  offered  him 
for  the  renewal  of  hostilities.  Explanations  and  apolo- 
gies were  alike  useless,  and  he  prepared  for  an  expe- 
dition against  Mecca. 

On  becoming  master  of  the  capital  of  Arabia,  his 
first  act  was  to  repair  the  Kaabah,  or  ancient  shrine 
of  Arabian  worship,  and  then  proclaiming  a  general 
amnesty,  the  Meccans  readily  embraced  the  creed  of 
Islam,  and  flocked  to  his  standard,  hoping  for  the  re- 
wards which  the  prophet  promised  in  Paradise,  as  well 
as  the  rich  spoils  from  the  conquered  tribes  around 
them.  In  his  first  victories  he  gave  the  Meccan  chiefs 
more  than  their  share  of  the  booty,  for  the  purpose  of 
kindling  their  enthusiasm,  but  in  so  doing  he  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  his  old  adherents,  and  he  only  ap- 
peased their  wrath  by  promising  never  again  to  make 
his  residence  at  Mecca  or  to  desert  their  own  city. 

DEATH   OF   MOHAMMED. 

The  ninth  year  after  the  flight  is  called  ''the 
year  of  deputations,"  as  it  marked  the  adhesion  of 
numerous  tribes  to  his  cause;  it  was  also  the  last  year 

1  A.  D.  629. 


176  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

in  which  Mohammed  was  able  to  conduct  military  ex- 
peditions in  person.  The  Arabs,  with  characteristic 
fickleness,  were  not  always  loyal  to  their  chief,  even 
during  his  lifetime.  Tribe  after  tribe  raised  the  stand- 
ard of  revolt,  and  required  the  close  attention  of  the 
chieftain  during  the  last  years  of  his  life. 

He  controlled  them  largely  by  keeping  them  occu- 
pied with  new  conquests,  and  animated  by  the  con- 
stant hope  of  still  greater  booty,  and  this  became  the 
bond  of  unity,  which,  perhaps  more  than  anything 
else,  saved  his  newly  established  government  from  dis- 
ruption. 

At  the  time  of  his  last  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  he 
stood  upon  an  elevation  and  addressed  the  assembled 
thousands  of  his  followers,  admonishing  them  to  stand 
firmly  by  the  faith  which  he  had  taught  them.  Soon 
afterward  his  health  failed,  but  he  rallied  a  little  and 
went  to  the  mosque  at  Medina,  where  a  large  congre- 
gation had  gathered  to  hear  the  latest  news  from 
their  leader.  Mounting  the  lower  steps  of  the  pulpit, 
he  said  a  few  parting  words  to  the  people,  and  then 
gave  some  careful  injunctions  to  the  general  whom 
he  had  entrusted  with  the  command  of  an  army  to 
Syria;  having  finished  his  admonitions  he  went  to  the 
rooms  of  his  favorite  wife,  Ayesha,  and  here  he 
breathed  his  last.1  That  his  successors  were  able  mili- 
tary leaders,  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  later  story 
of  Persia  and  other  conquered  lands. 

RECESSION   OF   THE   TEXT. 

At  the  time  of  Mohammed's  death,  no  collected 
edition  of  the  Koran  was  in  existence.  Many  frag- 

i  June  8.  A.  D.  632. 


tHE   KORAN.  177 

ments  were  in  possession  of  his  followers,  which  had 
been  written  down  at  different  times,  and  upon  vari- 
ous materials,  but  by  far  the  greater  portion  was  pre- 
served only  in  the  memories  of  men,  and  liable  at  any 
moment  to  be  carried  away  by  death.  Abu-Bekr,  or 
Omar,  had  a  collection  made  during  his  reign,  and  he 
employed  a  native  of  Medina  to  collect  and  arrange 
the  text  from  the  best  available  material.  This  he 
did,  collecting  the  texts  which  were  written  on  palm- 
leaves,  skins,  blade-bones,  and  other  material,  besides 
recording  what  could  be  gathered  from  the  memories 
of  men.  He  then  presented  the  Caliph  with  a  copy, 
which  was,  perhaps  very  much  like  the  one  we  now 
have.  It  was  compiled  without  reference  to  any  chron- 
ological order,  and  with  very  little  regard  to  the  log- 
ical connection  of  the  various  portions.  The  longer 
chapters  were  placed  at  the  beginning,  and  the  shorter 
ones  at  the  end,  without  regard  to  the  order  in  which 
they  were  written,  and  there  were  many  odd  verses 
inserted,  apparently  for  no  other  reason,  than  because 
they  were  in  harmony  with  the  rhythm.  There  were 
very  few  vowel  points,  and  these  often  make  a  great 
difference  in  the  meaning  of  words.  The  wording  of 
many  passages  which  were  copied  from  memory,  was 
disputed,  for  the  reason  that  the  persons  who  remem- 
bered them  did  not  agree  in  their  statements. 

In  the  present  recension  of  the  text  there  are  com- 
paratively few  different  versions  recognized,  but  it  is 
evident  that  great  variations  have  existed  from  the 
time  when  the  first  copy  was  collected,  as  even  then 
the  various  wordings  were  hotly  contested. 

Some    twenty  years   later,    the    Caliph   Othman  ap- 


178  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

pointed  a  commission,  consisting  of  Zaid,  the  original 
editor,  and  three  men  of  Mohammed's  own  tribe,  to 
decide  more  definitely  upon  the  proper  text. 

When  this  edition  was  completed,  Othman  sent 
copies  to  all  the  principal  cities  in  the  empire,  and 
his  recension  has  remained  the  authorized  text,  having 
been  adopted  by  all  schools  of  Mohammedan  theolo- 
gians from  the  time  of  its  completion l  to  the  present. 

No  attempt  was  made  in  this  work  to  present  any 
chronological  arrangement,  although  the  chapters  have 
prefixed  to  them  the  name  of  the  place  where  they 
were  supposed  to  be  revealed.  Attempts  have  been 
made  by  both  Arabic  and  European  scholars  to  pre- 
pare an  intelligible  chronological  .arrangement,  but  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  work  is  one  of  great  difficulty. 
The  most  critical  effort  upon  this  subject,  and  the 
most  successful,  has  been  made  by  Noldeke,  whose  ar- 
rangement is  the  best  which  Arabic  tradition,  com- 
bined with  European  criticism,  can  furnish. 

TEACHING    OF   THE    KORAN. 

The  Koran  is  largely  composed  of  fanciful  stories, 
which  have  been  woven  around  the  characters  and  in- 
cidents of  Biblical  narration.  There  are  however  some 
cardinal  points  of  doctrine  which  are  freely  taught, 
and  the  great  central  creed  of  Mohammedanism  is  that 
"There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet." 

The  confession  of  this  Kelimah,  or  creed,  is  the 
first  duty  of  every  convert,  and  after  this  he  is  re- 
quired to  pray,  fast,  give  alms,  and  make  pilgrimages. 


THE    KOKAN.  179 

The  name  of  God  in  Arabic  is  Allah,  being  composed 
of  the  article  al,  "the,"  and  iliih,  "a  god."  It  is  a 
very  old  Semitic  word  and  is  evidently  connected  with, 
or  derived  from  the  El  and  Elohim  of  the  Hebrews. 
According  to  Muslim  theology,  Allah  is  eternal,  and 
everlasting — comprehending  all  things,  but  compre- 
hended of  nothing.  His  attributes  are  expressed  by 
ninety-nine  epithets  which  are  used  in  the  Koran,  and 
which  in  Arabic  are  single  words,  and  generally  par- 
ticipial forms,  but  in  the  translation  they  are  some- 
times rendered  by  verbs  as  "He  creates"  for  "He  is 
the  creator." 

Besides  a  belief  in  God,  the  Koran  requires  a  belief 
in  angels ;  it  is  claimed  that  they  are  pure,  without 
distinction  of  sex;  are  created  of  fire,  and  neither  eat 
nor  drink.  Two  angels  are  appointed  for  each  human 
being,  and  one  stands  at  his  right  hand,  and  the  other 
at  his  left;  the  one  recording  his  good  deeds,  and  the 
other  his  transgressions  of  the  law.  Munkir  and  Na- 
kir  are  the  two  angels  who  preside  at  the  "examina- 
tion of  the  tomb."  They  visit  a  man  in  his  grave 
immediately  after  his  burial,  and  examine  him  concern- 
ing the  soundness  of  his  faith.  If  he  acknowledge 
that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  that  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet,  they  allow  him  to  rest  in .  peace,  otherwise 
they  beat  him  with  iron  maces  until  he  roars  so  loud 
that  he  is  heard  by  all  the  beings  in  the  universe, 
except  men  and  ginns.  They  then  press  the  earth 
down  upon  him,  and  leave  him  to  be  torn  by  dragons 
and  serpents  until  the  resurrection.  x  • 

The  giuns  (collectively  gahn)  represent  a  class  of 
beings  who  are  inferior  to  the  angels,  but  they  are  also 


180  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

created  out  of  fire,  and  are  both  good  and  evil.  Their 
abode  is  Mount  Qaf,  the  mountain  of  emerald  which, 
in  Persian  mythology,  surrounds  the  world. 

HEAYEX. 

Heaven,  according  to  the  Koran  and  the  traditions, 
consists  of  seven  divisions,  as  follows:  The  Garden  of 
Eternity— The  Abode  of  Peace— The  Abode  of  Resi>— 
The  Garden  of  Eden— The  Garden  of  Resortr— The 
Garden  of  Pleasure— The  Garden  of  the  Most  High, 
and  The  Garden  of  Paradise.  "  Who  created  seven 
heavens  in  stories  ?  .  .  .  Why,  look  again !  canst 
thou  see  a  flaw  ?  .  .  .  And  we  have  adorned  the 
lower  heaven  with  lamps ;  and  set  them  to  pelt  the 
devils  with;  and  we  have  prepared  them  for  the  tor- 
ment of  the  blaze." 

"And  the  fellows  of  the  right  hand— what  right  lucky 
fellows ! 

These  are  they  who  are  brought  nigh  in  gardens  of 
pleasure ! 

And  gold-weft  couches,  reclining  on  them  ! 

Around  them  shall  go  eternal  youths,  with  goblets  and 
ewers  and  a  cup  of  flowing  wine :  no  head -ache 
shall  they  feel  therefrom,  nor  shall  their  wits  be 
dimmed  ! 

And  fruits  such  as  they  deem  the  best; 

And  flesh  of  fowls  as  they  desire ; 

And  bright  and  large-eyed  maids  like  hidden  pearls : 

And  the  fellows  of  the  right — what  right  lucky  fel- 
lows! 

Amid  thornless  lote  trees 

And  trees  with  piles  of  fruit ; 


THE  KORAN.  181 

And  outspread  shade, 
And  water  outpoured  ; 

And  fruit  in  abundance,  neither  bitter  nor  forbidden  ; 
********* 

And  God  will  guard  them   from   the  evil  of  that  day 

and  will  cast  on  them  brightness  and  joy ; 
And  their  reward   for  their  patience  shall   be   Paradise 

and  silk ! 
Reclining  thereon  upon  couches,  they  shall  neither  see 

therein  the  sun  nor  piercing  cold; 
And  close  down  upon  them  shall  be  its  shadows ; 
And  lowered  over  them  its  fruits  to  cull ; 
And  they  shall   be   served  round   with  vessels  of  silver 

and  goblets  that  are  as  flagons — 
Flagons  of  silver  shall  they  mete  out !  .   .   .  . 
And  there  shall  go  round  them  eternal  boys ; 
When  thou  seest  them  thou  wilt  think  them  scattered 

pearls; 
And  when  thou  seest  them  thou  shalt  see  pleasure  and 

a  great  estate  ! 
On  them  shall  be  garments  of  green  embroidered  satin 

and  brocade; 
And  they  shall  be  adorned  with  bracelets  of  silver."  l 

HELL. 

Hell  also  has  seven  divisions,  which  are  arranged  in 
the  following  order:  Gehenna — The  Flaming  Fire — The 
Raging  Fire  that  splits  everything  to  pieces — The 
Blaze— The  Scorching  Fire— The  Fierce  Fire— The 

Abyss. 

i  Koran,  Chaps.  56,  67,  76,  Palmer's  Trans.  The  more  sensuous  portions 
of  these  descriptions  are  necessarily  omitted. 


182  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

"It  is  thus  that  we  reward  sinners;  for  them  is  the 
couch  of  hell-fire  with  an  awning  above  them ! 
Thus  do  we  reward  the  unjust !  .  .  . 

The  fellows  of  the  fire  shall  call  out  to  the  fellows  of 
Paradise,  'Pour  out  upon  us  water,  or  something 
God  has  provided  you  with/  They  will  say  *  God 
has  prohibited  them  both  to  those  that  misbe- 
lieve.' .  .  . 

Faces  on  that  day  shall  be  humble,  laboring,  toiling — 
shall  broil  upon  a  burning  fire ;  shall  be  given  to 
drink  from  a  boiling  spring ! 

No  food  shall  they  have  save  from  the  foul  thorn, 
which  shall  not  fatten  nor  avail  against  hunger! 

And  the  fellows  of  the  left — what  unlucky  fellows  ! 

In  hot  blasts  and  boiling  water; 

And  a  shade  of  pitchy  smoke, 

Neither  cool  nor  generous  ! 

Verily,  they  were  affluent  ere  this,  and  did  persist  in 
mighty  crime  and  say  '  What,  when  we  die  and 
have  become  dust  and  bones,  shall  we  then  in- 
deed be  raised?' 

Then  ye,  Oh  ye  who  err  !  who  say  it  is  a  lie  ! 

Shall  eat  of  the  Zaqqum  tree  ! 

And  fill  yourselves  with  it  ! 

And  drink  thereon  of  boiling  water ! 

And  drink  as  drinks  the  thirsty  camel. 

This  is  their  entertainment  on  the  judgment  day  ! 

Whenever  a  new  troop  is  brought  forward  to  be 
thrown  into  hell  they  shall  hear  its  brayings  as  it 
boils,  for  it  shall  well  nigh  burst  for  rage,  and 
the  treasures  of  hell  shall  come  forward  and  shall 
ask  them,  '  Did  not  a  warner  come  to  you  ? '  They 


THE    KORAN.  183 

shall  stay,  '  Yea !    a    warner  came   to   us,  and  we 
called  him  a  liar/ 

And  they  shall  say,  'Had  we  but  listened  or  had 
sense  we  had  not  been  among  the  fellows  of  the 
blaze  ! '  "  l 

PREDESTINATION. 

The  Koran  teaches  the  doctrine  of  predestination 
in  its  most  radical  form;  every  act  of  every  living  being 
having  been  written  down  from  all  eternity  in  "the 
preserved  tablet."  This  predestination  is  called  taqdir 
"meeting  out/'  or  quismeh,  "apportioning." 

It  is  said  in  the  Koran  that  "  God  leads  astray 
whom  he  will,  and  guides  whom  he  will."2 

The  Arabians  were  glad  to  argue  that  they  were 
not  responsible  for  their  deeds,  but  every  act  of  theirs 
being  foreordained  it  was  therefore  justified.  They 
were  forbidden  to  turn  back  in  battle,  for  he  who  turns 
back  "save  turning  to  fight  or  rallying  to  a  troop, 
brings  down  upon  himself  wrath  from  God,  and  his 
resort  is  hell,  and  an  ill  journey  shall  it  be." 

They  were  exonerated  from  all  charge  of  killing 
unbelievers,  even  in  battle,  for  it  is  said,  "  Ye  did  not 
slay  them,  but  it  was  God  who  slew  them  ;  nor  didst 
thou  shoot,  when  thou  didst  shoot,  but  God  did  shoot/' 3 
When  the  Abyssinian,  Abrahat  el  Asram,  marched 
upon  Mecca  with  a  large  body  of  troops  and  ele- 
phants, he  was  suddenly  defeated,  and  when  the  Koran 
was  written  it  was  said,  "  Hast  thou  not  seen  what 
thy  Lord  did  with  the  fellows  of  the  elephant  ?  Did 
he  not  make  their  strategem  lead  them  astray,  and 

l  Chap,  vil,  v.  88,  56,  67.  a  Chap,  xiv,  v.  95. 

3  Chap,  viii,  v.  15. 


184  PERSIAN  LITERATURE. 

send  down  on  them  birds  in  flocks,  to  throw  down 
on  them  stones  of  baked  clay,  and  make  them  like 
blades  of  herbage  eaten  down  ? " l  This  legend  of  the 
destruction  of  an  army  by  flocks  of  birds  who  carried 
stones  in  their  beaks  has  been  repeated  in  various 
forms  in  Oriental  story.  The  object  of  the  invader 
was  supposed  to  be  the  destruction  of  the  Kaabah,  a 
shrine  to  which  devotion  had  been  paid  from  time 
immemorial.  This  was  the  one  thing  which  the  scat- 
tered Arabian  people  had  in  common,  and  which  gave 
to  them  a  national  feeling.  Mohammed,  therefore,  did 
not  abolish  it,  but  cleared  it  of  its  idols  and  dedicated 
it  to  the  new  faith.  As  it  was  predestinated  that  the 
Kaabah  should  stand  throughout  the  ages,  it  was 
readily  supposed  that  even  the  birds  of  heaven  would 
repulse  the  forces  of  the  infidel  invader. 

POLYGAMY. 

One  of  the  most  fatal  blots  upon  the  creed  of 
Islam  is  the  open  countenance  which  it  gives  to  pol- 
ygamy. We  have  not  here  the  case  of  a  prophet  placed 
in  the  midst  of  an  ignorant  and  barbarous  people, 
who  confronted  and  modified  institutions  which  he 
could  not  at  once  suppress,  but  we  have  Mohammed 
inculcating  the  doctrine  of  polygamy,  by  both  precept 
and  example.  It  is  repeatedly  taught  in  the  Koran, 
and  men  are  commanded  to  "  Marry  what  seems  good 
to  you  of  women,  by  twos,  or  threes,  or  by  fours."2 
When  his  other  wives  objected  to  the  introduction  of 
the  Coptic  slave  girl,  Mary,  into  the  harem  of  Moham- 
med, he  claimed  to  receive  a  revelation  from  heaven  jus- 

i  Chap.  xv.  2  chap,  iv,  v.  1. 


THE    KORAN.  185 

tifying  his  conduct.  He  also  divorced  the  woman  who 
gave  the  information  to  the  others,  and  banished  them 
all  (except  the  Coptic  girl)  from  his  presence  for  the 
space  of  a  month.  He  enjoined  his  followers  to  treat 
their  wives  and  slaves  more  kindly,  but  they  could 
marry  and  divorce  them  at  pleasure  ;  the  Koran,  how- 
ever, states  that  "  If  he  divorce  her  a  third  time,  he 
cannot  marry  her  after  that  until  she  marry  another 
husband:"  if  the  new  husband  divorces  her,  however, 
the  first  may  marry  her  again. 

They  were  also  allowed  to  exchange  wives,  but  it 
is  said  :  "  If  ye  wish  to  exchange  one  wife  for  an- 
other, and  have  given  one  of  them  a  talent,  then  do 
not  take  from  it  anything."1 

They  required  the  most  careful  conduct  and  seclu- 
sion in  their  wives,  and  the  penalty  for  adultery  was 
imprisonment  for  life,  but  of  their  partners  in  guilt 
it  was  said,  "if  they  turn  again  and  amend,  leave 
them  alone."2  Again  it  is  said,  "Men  stand  superior 
to  women.  .  .  .  But  those  wives  whose  perverse- 
ness  ye  fear,  admonish  them  and  remove  them  into 
a  bedchamber  and  beat  them  ;  but  if  they  submit  to 
you,  do  not  seek  a  way  against  them."3 

The  Mohammedans  of  Persia  have  by  no  means  for- 
gotten their  early  training,  and  they  still  fill  their 
Anderoons  with  as  many  women  as  they  can  afford. 
Every  Persian  house  is  constructed  on  the  plan  of 
secrecy.  No  windows  are  visible  from  the  street,  but 
the  interior  is  built  around  courts  or  gardens,  with 
beautiful  fountains  and  fragrant  flowers;  indeed,  there 
may  be  groves  of  fruit  trees  which  cannot  be  seen 

i  Chap,  iv,  v.  34.  2  Koran,  iv,  v.  15-20.  3  Koran,  iv,  v.  38. 


186  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

from  the  street.  In  the  main  portion  of  the  house 
the  lord  of  the  mansion  lives  and  transacts  his  busi- 
ness during  the  day,  while  the  inmates  of  his  Ande- 
roon  are  kept  in  the  most  rigid  seclusion,  passing 
their  time  as  best  they  may,  in  doing  fine  embroidery, 
and  possibly  acquiring  some  proficiency  in  music  or 
painting.  They  cannot  go  out  at  all  without  a 
mantle  or  veil  which  covers  them  from  head  to  foot ; 
and  when  the  wives  of  the  Shah  go  upon  the  street 
they  are  not  only  followed  by  the  royal  guards,  but 
the  event  is  announced  by  a  herald,  the  shops  are 
closed  and  the  streets  must  be  deserted. 

Still,  it  is  claimed  that  with  all  their  seclusion  and 
ignorance,  the  women  of  Persia  have  a  certain  amount 
of  influence,  and  if  one  man  wishes  the  assistance  of 
another,  he  confides  the  matter  to  one  or  all  of  his 
wives,  and  they  visit  the  wives  of  the  man  whose  aid 
is  needed,  and  by  solicitation  and  costly  presents  the 
object  is  often  accomplished.  It  is  said  that  many 
important  transactions  in  Persia  are  conducted  in  this 
way. 

LITERARY    STYLE    OF    THE    KORAN. 

The  language  of  the  Koran  is  generally  considered 
the  most  perfect  form  of  Arabian  speech,  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  the  acknowledged  posi- 
tion of  the  book,  as  a  work  of  divine  authorship, 
made  it  impossible  for  any  Muslim  to  criticize  the 
Koran,  either  in  regard  to  its  mode  of  expression  or 
its  doctrinal  teaching.  On  the  contrary,  it  became  the 
standard  by  which  other  Arabian  compositions  must  be 
judged.  All  literary  critics  assumed  that  the  Koran 


THE   KORAN.  187 

must  be  right,  and  therefore  other  works  only  ap- 
proached merit  in  proportion  as  they  more  or  less 
successfully  imitated  its  style. 

The  language  of  this  literary  model  of  Arabia  is 
surely  rugged  and  forcible,  even  though  it  is  not 
elegant  or  refined.  Mohammed  often  spoke  with  a 
rude  and  startling  eloquence ;  there  was  no  mistaking 
the  language  of  his  fierce  denunciations,  for  instance : 
"Verily,  those  who  disbelieve  in  our  signs,  we  will 
broil  them  with  fire ;  whenever  their  skins  are  well 
done,  then  we  will  change  them  for  other  skins,  that 
they  may  taste  the  torment."1 

Each  chapter  of  the  Koran  is  called  a  Surah — an 
Arabic  word  which  signifies  a  course  of  bricks  in  a 
wall.  These  Surahs  resolve  themselves  into  two  dif- 
ferent classes ;  the  one  claiming  to  have  been  given 
at  Mecca,  the  other  including  only  the  revelations 
which  were  supposed  to  be  received  at  Medina  after 
the  flight.  The  earlier  Surahs  have  a  tone  of  enthu- 
siasm and  impassioned  eloquence,  which  is  not  found 
in  the  later  productions.  The  style  of  these  earlier 
chapters  is  often  poetic,  and  sometimes  almost  sublime ; 
the  principal  doctrine  found  in  them  is  monotheism, 
and  the  author  seeks  to  impress  his  followers  by  his 
eloquence  rather  than  by  his  logic ;  by  appealing  to 
their  emotions  rather  than  to  their  reason.  He 
called  upon  nature  to  witness  the  presence  of  God, 
and  proclaimed  vengeance  against  those  who  still 
clung  to  their  idols.  He  also  gave  the  most  glowing 
pictures  of  the  future  reward  of  believers,  and  the 

i  Chap,  iv,  v.  59. 


188  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

most  revolting  descriptions  of  the  unending  tortures 
designed  for  those  who  refused  to  accept  his  message. 

In  the  Siirahs  of  the  later  portion  of  the  Meccan 
period,  we  find  long  stories  which  are  woven  in  a 
fanciful  way  around  the  characters  of  Biblical  narra- 
tive, still  showing,  however,  more  or  less  of  the  poetic 
fire  and  eloquence  of  Mohammed's  earliest  produc- 
tions. 

At  a  later  period  he  appears  in  Medina,  as  a  mili- 
tary leader  of  great  ability  and  influence.  He  is  now 
surrounded,  not  only  by  the  loyal  friends  who  have 
shared  his  persecutions,  and  accompanied  him  in  his 
flight,  but  also  by  a  large  class  who  have  been  forced 
to  adhere  to  his  cause,  and  whose  sincerity  is  so  ques- 
tionable that  they  are  openly  called  "  hypocrites." 

The  style  of  the  Surahs  which  were  given  amidst 
these  surroundings,  and  during  the  later  years  of  the 
author's  life,  varies  greatly  from  that  of  the  earlier 
chapters.  We  find  here  incidents  which  are  scarcely 
embellished,  and  which  are  often  expressed  in  the 
most  prosaic  language.  Instead  of  the  impassioned 
appeal  of  an  orator,  we  have  the  more  authoritative 
language  of  an  acknowledged  chief,  giving  his  people 
whatever  instruction  they  may  require.  He  still  fol- 
lows, however,  the  rhythmical  style  of  expression,  which 
has  so  long  been  characteristic  of  the  Arabians.  The 
Arabs  of  the  desert  still  employ  it  to  a  great  extent 
in  their  formal  orations,  while  the  peculiar  style  of 
the  Koran  remains  their  standard  of  literary  excel- 
lence. 


DIVISION    IV. 

THE  PERIOD    SUCCEEDING    THE  MOHAMMEDAN 
CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ANWAR-I-SUHALI. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  WORK  —  PREFACE  —  THE  BEES  AND 
THEIR  HABITS— THE  TWO  PIGEONS  —  THE  BLIND 
MAN  AND  HIS  WHIP — AMICABLE  INSTRUCTION — THE 
PIGEONS  AND  THE  RAT  —  THE  ANTELOPE  AND  THE 
CROW  —  THE  ELEPHANT  AND  THE  JACKAL  —  GEMS 
FROM  THE  HITOPADESA. 

THERE  were  two  collections  of  early  fables  in  San- 
skrit literature,  called  the  Pancatantra  and  the 
Hitopadesa,  and  during  the  reign  of  the  Sassanian  kings 
a  quaint  old  book  containing  these  stories  was  brought 
to  the  Persian  court  and  translated  into  the  Pahlavi 
tongue.  This  was  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of 
Aryan  literature,  and  since  that  time1  this  rare  collec- 
tion of  simple  stories  has  passed  through  more  muta- 
tions than  has  the  Roman  Empire;  it  is  now  extant, 
under  various  names,  in  more  than  twenty  languages, 

i  About  A.  D.  570. 
189 


190  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  Persian  version  being  known  as  the  Anwar-i-Suhali, 
or  "The  Lights  of  Canopus."1  It  is  recorded  that  King 
Nushirvan  commissioned  an  officer  of  state  to  procure 
a  translation  of  this  work,  and,  being  obtained  after 
years  of  difficulty,  it  was  deposited  in  the  cabinet  of 
the  king's  most  precious  treasures,  and  was  regarded 
as  a  model  of  wisdom  and  didactic  philosophy.  But 
at  the  time  of  the  Arabian  conquest,  this  work,  with 
many  others,  was  destroyed  by  the  vandals  of  the 
desert.  More  than  a  hundred  years  later  the  book  was 
discovered  and  translated  into  Arabic  by  Almokaffa,2 
it  then  passed  through  the  hands  of  several  Arabic 
poets,  and  was  afterward  retranslated  into  Persian, 
first  into  verse,  by  Rudaki  in  the  tenth  century,  and 
into  prose  in  the  twelfth  century  by  Nasrallah.  As 
early  as  the  eleventh  century  the  Arabic  work  of 
Almokaffa  was  translated  into  Greek  by  Simeon,  and 
then  passed  into  the  Italian.  Again  the  Arabic  text 
was  translated  into  Hebrew  by  Rabbi  Joel,  and  this 
Hebrew  version  became  the  principal  source  of  the 
European  books  of  fable.  Before  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  John  of  Capua  had  published  a 
Latin  version,  and  a  more  elegant  Persian  rendering 
was  made  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century 
by  Husain  Va'iz.  A  Turkish  translation  had  been 
made  early  in  the  tenth  century,  but  there  was  no 
Hindustani  version  until  much  later.  The  number  of 
translations  indicated  the  extreme  popularity  of  the 

1  Canopus  was  a  star  which  stood  at  the  right  in  the  heavens  when  the 
observer  was  looking  from  Hirat,  and  consequently  it  lay  in  the  direction  of 
Arabia,  which  the  prophet  claimed  as  the  home  of  wisdom,  and  therefore 
wisdom  was  represented  by  Canopus. 

2  Translated  by  Almckaffa  about  A.  D.  770. 


THE   ANWAB-I-SUHALI.  191 

work  in  Europe,  and  in  the  sixteenth  century  it  was 
read  in  German,  Italian,  Spanish  and  French.  The 
English  has  not  so  many  versions,  although  both  Sir 
William  Jones  and  Prof.  Max  Miiller  have  translated 
the  Hitapodesa,  and  Prof.  Eastwick  has  given  us  a 
faithful  reproduction  of  Husain  Va'iz's  work,  the  An- 
war-i-Suhali. 

The  Persian  version  is  the  book  which  candidates 
for  the  position  of  interpreter  are  required  to  read 
after  the  Gulistan,  as  the  great  number  of  words  and 
the  variety  of  its  style  make  it  the  best  book  in  the 
language  to  be  studied  by  one  who  wishes  to  make 
rapid  progress  in  Persian.  In  the  present  century 
Major  Stewart,  professor  of  Persian  at  the  East  India 
College  at  Haileyburg,  published  a  translation  of  the 
seventh  book  of  this  work,  and  dedicated  it  to  the 
civil  and  military  employes  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany. The  repetition  of  metaphor  and  highly  florid 
style  of  composition  is  often  offensive  to  the  English 
reader,  but  these  very  characteristics  form  its  great- 
est attraction  in  the  eye  of  Persian  litterateurs,  and 
many  stories  are  delightful  to  them  which  are  weari- 
some or  repulsive  to  the  simpler  taste  of  the  western 
student.  In  this  fanciful  work  kings  are  represented 
as  sitting  on  thrones  as  stable  as  the  firmament,  while 
they  touch  the  stars  with  their  foreheads,  and  have 
all  other  kings  to  serve  them.  Royalty  is  always  just, 
wise,  valiant  and  most  beneficent — ministers  are  invari- 
ably gifted  with  intellects  which  are  an  ornament  to 
the  world,  and  they  can  solve  all  problems  with  a 
single  thought.  Mountains  rival  the  planets  in  their 
height,  and  all  gardens  are  fair  as  dreams  of  para- 


192  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

dise,  while  the  heroes  conquer  animals  so  furious  that 
even  their  appearance  frightens  the  constellations  out 
of  the  heavens.  These  absurdities  are  so  prominent 
that  they  tempt  the  student  to  turn  away  in  disgust, 
but  those  who  patiently  peruse  the  book  will  discover 
many  beautiful  thoughts,  many  striking  arid  practical 
ideas,  which  are  forcibly  and  often  beautifully  ex- 


The'  preface  is  similar  to  that  of  many  other  Per- 
sian works,  being  composed  very  largely  of  a  eulogy 
upon  Mohammed,  and  especially  upon  the  royal  dig- 
nitary to  whom  the  work  is  dedicated. 

A  brief  extract  from  this  literary  curiosity  will 
give  the  reader  an  example  of  the  fulsome  praise 
which  Persian  authors  thought  best  to  bestow  upon 
the  kings  or  court  officials  who  encouraged  their  pur- 
suits. 

"And  he  is  the  great  Amir,  the  place  where  all 
excellences  and  high  qualities  centre,  through  the  sub- 
limity of  his  spirit,  .  .  .  who,  without  compli- 
ment, is  the  star  Canopus  shining  from  the  right 
hand  of  Yaman,  and  a  sun  diffusing  radiance,  from 
the  dawning  place  of  affection  and  fidelity. 

Where  Canopus  falls  thy  ray,  and  where 
Thou  risest,  fortune's  marks  are  surely  there. 

With  a  view  to  the  universal  diffusion  of  what  is 
advantageous  to  mankind,  and  the  multiplying  of  what 
is  beneficial  to  the  high  and  low,  he  condescended  to 
favor  me  with  an  intimation  of  his  high  will,  that  this 
humble  individual,  devoid  of  ability,  and  this  insignifi- 
cant person  of  small  capital,  should  be  bold  enough  to 


THE    ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  193 

clothe  the  said  book  in  a  new  dress,  and  bestow  fresh 
ornament  upon  the  beauty  of  its  tales  of  esoteric  mean- 
ing, which  were  veiled  and  concealed  by  the  curtain  of 
obscure  words  and  difficult  expressions,  by  presenting 
on  the  stages  of  lucid  style  and  the  chambers  of  be- 
coming metaphors  after  a  fashion  that  the  eye  of  every 
examiner,  without  a  glance  of  penetration,  may  enjoy 
a  share  of  the  loveliness  of  these  beauties,  of  the  orna- 
mented bridal  chamber  of  narrative,  and  the  heart  of 
every  wise  person,  without  the  trouble  of  imagining, 
may  obtain  the  fruition  of  union  with  those  delicately 
reared  ones  of  the  closet  of  the  mind."1 

A  preface  of  this  kind  is  surely  calculated  to  deter 
the  student  from  seeking  further  for  the  beauties  of 
this  peculiar  work,  but  when  divested  of  the  cumber- 
some verbiage  these  stories  will  be  found  both  quaint 
and  pleasing.  A  few  of  the  best  of  them  are  here 
given  in  simple  phrase  : 

THE   BEES  AND  THEIR  HABITS. 

There  stood  in  the  garden  an  old  tree,  whose  leaves 
had  fallen,  and  there  was  no  vitality  with  which  to  re- 
place them.  The  hatchet  of  the  peasant  Time  had 
mutilated  its  limbs,  and  the  saw  of  the  carpenter  For- 
tune had  sharpened  its  teeth  in  making  shreds  of  its 
warp  and  woof.  The  centre  of  the  tree  had  become 
hollow,  and  a  busy  swarm  of  bees  had  made  it  their 
fortress.  When  the  king  heard  the  buzzing  of  the  lit- 
tle workers,  he  inquired  of  his  sage  why  these  little  in- 
sects gathered  in  the  tree,  and  at  whose  command  they 
resorted  to  the  meadow.  Then  the  minister  replied : 

i  See  preface,  Eastwick's  version,  p.  10. 


194  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

"0,  fortunate  prince,  they  are  a  tribe  doing  much 
good  and  little  harm.  They  have  a  queen  larger  in 
bulk  than  themselves,  and  have  placed  their  heads  on 
the  line  of  obedience  to  her  majesty ;  she  is  seated 
upon  a  square  throne  of  wax,  and  she  has  appointed 
to  their  several  offices  her  vizier  and  chamberlain,  her 
porter  and  guard,  her  spy  and  deputy.  The  ingenuity 
of  her  attendants  is  such  that  each  one  prepares  hex- 
agonal chambers  of  wax,  having  no  inequality  in  their 
partitions,  and  the  best  geometricians  would  be  unable 
to  do  such  work  without  instruments.  When  this 
work  approaches  completion  they  come  forth  from  their 
abode  at  the  queen's  command,  and  a  noble  bee  ex- 
plains to  them  that  they  must  not  exchange  their 
cleanliness  for  grossness,  nor  pollute  their  purity  by 
evil  associations.  They  therefore  sit  only  beside  the 
fair  lily  or  fragrant  rose,  in  order  to  draw  therefrom 
the  purest  honey.  When  they  come  to  the  home  the 
warders  try  them  by  smelling,  and  if  they  have  kept 
their  sacred  trust  and  avoided  all  impure  associations, 
permission  is  given  them  to  re-enter  the  immaculate 
chambers  of  white  wax.  But  there  are  many  blos- 
soms which,  though  beautiful  to  the  eye,  will  poison 
those  who  touch  them,  and  the  foolish  bee  who  is 
attracted  by  their  deceitful  loveliness  is  also  polluted 
by  their  fatal  breath ;  when  he  comes  to  the  portals 
of  the  hive  the  quick  scent  of  the  warders  detect  the 
fact  if  he  has  been  polluted  by  evil  surroundings,  and 
the  offender  is  quickly  punished  by  decapitation.  If, 
however,  the  warders  should  be  negligent  enough  to 
allow  the  culprit  to  enter,  and  the  queen  of  this  spot- 
less palace  should  detect  the  offensive  taint,  both  the 


THE   AN\VAR-I-SUHALI.  195 

culprit  and  the  careless  warders  will  be  conducted  to 
the  place  of  punishment  and  the  warders  will  be  exe- 
cuted first.  It  is  recorded  that  Jamshid,  '  Emperor  of 
the  World/  borrowed  from  these  wise  disciplinarians  the 
regulations  respecting  warders  and  guards,  the  appoint- 
ment of  chamberlains  and  door-keepers,  and  also  the 
arrangement  of  thrones  and  regal  cushions,  which,  in 
the  course  of  time,  perfected  our  customs." 

Upon  hearing  this  wonderful  illustration  of  the  effects 
of  bad  company  upon  the  unfortunate  bee,  and  learn- 
ing that  every  man  carries  with  him  a  portion  of  the 
vileness  of  his  evil  companions,  the  king  exclaimed : 
"  I  have  been  convinced  to-day  that  the  society  of  some 
persons  is  more  hurtful  than  the  poison  of  a  viper, 
and  the  association  with  them  more  dangerous  than  a 
position  which  involves  the  peril  of  one's  life,  and  I 
reason  therefrom  that  it  may  be  better  to  live  in  se. 
elusion."  But  the  sage  replied  :  "  Great  leaders  have 
preferred  the  companionship  of  the  good  and  true,  but 
when  a  sincere  friend  is  not  to  be  found,  then  indeed 
solitude  is  better  than  society." 

THE   TWO   PIGEONS. 

There  were  two  faithful  pigeons  who  at  one  time 
consorted  together  in  one  nest,  with  their  loyal  hearts 
undisturbed  by  treachery,  and  free  from  misfortune. 
One  was  named  Bazindah  (playful),  and  the  other  was 
called  Nawtizindah  (caressing),  while  every  morning  and 
evening  their  voices  were  mingled  in  the  soft  notes  of 
love.  But  some  were  envious  of  the  happy  pair,  and 
evil  counsellors  attempted  to  "sever  love,  and  friend 
from  friend  divide." 


196  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

An  anxious  desire  for  travel  was  carefully  instilled 
into  the  ambitious  heart  of  Bazindah,  and  he  said   to 
his  loving  mate,  "  How  long  shall  we  continue  in  one 
nest,  and  spend  our  time  in  one  abode  ?     I  feel  a  de- 
sire to  wander  through  different  parts  of  the   world, 
for,  in  a  few  days  of  travel,  many  marvelous   things 
are  seen,   and  many  experiences  are  gained.     There    is 
no    honor  awarded  until  the  sword  comes  forth  from 
the  scabbard  upon  the  field  of  the  brave ;  the  sky    is 
ever    journeying,  and   it   is  the   highest   of  all   things, 
while  the  earth   which  is  ever  still  is  always  trampled 
down,  and  kicked  by  all  things,  both  high  and  low  : 
'View  the  earth's  sphere  and  the  revolving  skies, 
This  sinks  by  rest,  and  those  by  motion  rise ; 
Travel,  man's  tutor  is,  and  glory's  gate, 
On  travel,  treasure  and  instruction  wait, 
From  place  to  place  had  trees  the  power  to  move, 
No  saw  nor  ax  could  wrong  the  stately  grove.'" 
To  this  his  gentle  mate  replied,  "  My  beloved,  when 
thou   removest    thy   heart   from    the    society    of    thine 
own,  thou  dost  sever  the  cord   of  unity;    thou   mayest 
unite   with  new    comrades,   but    never   wilt   thou    find 
them  so  loyal,  as  those  which  long  years  of  trial  have 
shown  to   be  true.     Remember  the  precept  of  the  wise 
man,  and 

'Do  not  an  old  and  well  tried  friend  forego 
For  new  allies,  for  this  will  end  in  woe/ 
Thou  mayest  transgress,  and  what  impression  will   my 
word  have  upon  thee  then  ?    Eemember  that 
'  He  shall  his  foeman's  fondest  wish  fulfill, 
Who  to  well  wishing  friends  bends  not  his  will.'" 


THE    AXWAR-I-SUHALI.  197 

Bazindah,  however,  tore  his  heart  away  from  his 
loving  mate,  and  set  forth  upon  the  wing,  exulting  in 
his  liberty  and  freedom  from  her  gentle  admonitions. 
With  great  curiosity,  and  perfect  pleasure,  he  trav- 
eled for  a  while  through  the  blue  air,  and  passed  over 
the  bright  hills  and  gardens  of  roses  and  lilies.  After 
a  time  he  came  to  a  mountain,  and  at  its  feet  lay  a 
beautiful  meadow ;  its  green  surface  was  delightful  as 
the  gardens  of  heaven,  and  the  northern  breeze  swept 
down  from  the  cool  hills,  laden  with  the  perfume  of  a 
thousand  flowers. 

"  There  countless  roses  their  pavilions  kept, 
The  grass  moved  wakeful,   while   the  waters  slept, 
The  roses  painted  with  a  thousand   hues, 
Their  heavenly  fragrance  each  a  league  diffuse." 

The  setting  sun  was  bathing  the  hills  with  its 
glory  when  the  weary  pigeon  reached  the  lovely  spot, 
and  he  nestled  gratefully  down  amidst  the  green  grass 
and  fragrant  flowers  to  spend  the  night  in  peace  and 
happiness;  with  his  head  tucked  under  his  wing,  he 
did  not  see  that  a  shadow  had  darkened  the  fair 
sunset ;  he  did  not  see  that  its  glory  was  shaded  by 
an  angry  storm-clou i.  But  soon  the  restless  wind 
was  tossing  the  canopy  of  clouds  into  the  high  court 
of  the  air,  and  Bazindah's  heart  was  quaking  with 
terror  as  the  fiery  lightnings  flashed  around  him,  con- 
suming the  hearts  of  the  tulips  beside  him  ;  the  piti- 
less hail  dashed  the  bright  narcissus  to  the  earth, 
while  the  thunderbolts  seemed  to  tear  the  very  heart 
of  the  mountain. 


198  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

"In  pieces  was  the  mountain's    breast,   by  the    light- 
ning's arrows  riven, 

And  earth  to  its  foundations  shook,    at  the  fearful 
voice  of  heaven." 

Biizindah  had  no  shelter  from  the  storm — no  refuge 
from  the  pitiless  hail  and  searching  wind  ;  in  vain  he 
tried  to  hide  beneath  some  friendly  branch  or  amidst 
the  leaves  and  grass,  still  the  cruel  hail  pelted  him 
like  some  remorseless  foe,  and  the  cold  rain  still 
poured  upon  him. 

"  Night !  gloomy  night ! — Heaven's  awful  voice — 
What  tempest  shower  so  fierce  as  this  ? 
"What  care  the  gay  in  banquet  halls  ? 
Our  perils  do  not  mar  their  bliss." 

In  terror  and  peril,  the  traveler  passed  the  night 
thinking  of  the  home-nest,  and  the  gentle  mate  who 
would  so  gladly  shield  him  from  the  storm  with  her 
own  pinions,  and  who  was  even  now  grieving  her  life 
away  in  loneliness,  because  he  came  not. 

But  whatever  feelings  of  penitence  may  have  been 
cherished  during  the  perils  of  the  night,  were  quickly 
dissipated  by  the  beauty  of  the  morning  light. 

"  From  the  east  then  drew  the  sun, 
His  golden  poniard  bright, 
And  through  the  earth's  dark  regions 
Spread  a  flood  of  yellow  light." 

Bazindah  again  arose  upon  his  faithful  wings,  and 
pursued  his  journey ;  but  a  royal  white  falcon  was 
abroad  looking  for  prey, — a  falcon  which  descends  upon 
the  head  of  its  quarry,  swifter  than  the  rays  of  the 


THE   ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  199 

sun,   and    when    soaring   on    high    he    reaches    heaven 
quicker  than  the  sight  of  man. 

"Attacking  now,  it  left  the  thunderbolt  behind, 
And  soared  more  swiftly  than  the  chilling  wind." 

For  the  pitiless  bird  had  marked  the  pigeon  for  his 
prey,  and  the  victim's  heart  began  to  flutter,  while  his 
wings,  paralyzed  with  fear,  seemed  to  lose  all  power  of 
motion. 

"  When  on  the  dove  the  rapid  falcon  swoops, 
The  helpless  quarry  unresisting  droops." 

In  that  moment  of  helpless  terror,  Bazindah 
thought  again  of  his  faithful  mate,  and  quickly  re- 
solved that  couid  he  but  escape  this  deadly  peril,  he 
would  be  content  at  home  in  her  downy  nest.  He  was 
already  beneath  the  claw  of  the  falcon,  when  the 
Hashing  eye  of  an  eagle  fell  upon  them, — an  eagle 
whose  talons  were  so  sharp  that  the  sign  of  Aquila 
was  not  safe  in  the  nest  of  the  sky,  and  who,  when 
hungry,  carried  off  from  the  meadows  of  heaven  the 
signs  of  Aries  and  Capricorn. 

"  Aries  itself,  through  fear  of  him 
Would  gaze  not  on  the  sky, 
Save  that  Bahrain,1  the  blood  drinker 
Each  day  stood  watchful  by." 

This  fearful  bird  was  on  the  wing  searching  for  food, 
and  seeing  the  falcon  and  the  pigeon,  he  said  to  himself, 
"Although  this  pigeon  is  only  a  mouthful,  nevertheless 
one  may  break  one's  fast  upon  it,"  and  quickly  he  dashed 
at  the  falcon: 

i  The  planet  Mars. 


200  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

"The  feathered  rivals  then  to  fight  began, 
The  quarry,  dodging,  from  between  them  ran." 

While  the  fight  went  fiercely  on,  Biizindah  threw  him- 
self under  a  stone,  and  crowded  himself  into  a  hole 
hardly  large  enough  for  a  sparrow,  and  here  he  passed 
the  day  and  another  night,  quivering  with  terror  and 
distress.  But  the  morning  light  again  illumined  the 
mountain  peaks,  for  the  white-pinioned  dove  of  the 
dawn  began  to  fly  from  the  nest  of  heaven,  and  the 
black  raven  of  night  went  to  his  rest  like  the  Slmurgh, 
behind  the  shades  of  the  distant  mountains.  Bazindah 
began  to  flutter  his  weary  wings,  and  look  hungrily 
around  him,  when  he  gladly  spied  another  pigeon,  with 
a  little  grain  scattered  before  him.  Kejoicing  to  see 
one  of  his  own  species,  he  fluttered  eagerly  to  the  grain, 
but  alas!  his  foot  was  caught  in  a  snare. 

"Satan's  the  net,  the  world's  the  grain, 
Our  lusts  the  enticements  are, 
Our  hearts,  the  fowl  which  greediness 
Soon  lures  within  the  snare." 

With  bitter  reproaches  upon  the  captive  pigeon  who 
had  thus  lured  him  to  destruction,  he  trembled  and 
struggled,  until  he  broke  the  decayed  net,  and  turned 
his  tired  face  toward  the  home-nest,  and  flew  as  rapidly 
as  his  forlorn  condition  would  permit.  Fearing  to  at- 
tempt again  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  he  was  nevertheless 
compelled  to  rest,  at  last,  on  a  wall  near  a  field  of  corn. 
A  thoughtless  boy  sent  an  arrow  toward  him,  and 
wounded  he  fell,  but  he  lay  so  quietly  that  the  young 
hunter  failed  to  find  his  game,  and  at  last,  weak  and 
wounded,  hungry  and  discouraged,  he  fluttered  by 


THE  ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  201 

short    flights  homeward.     Nawazindah  heard  the  flutter 
of  his  wings,  and  flew  joyously  out  to  meet  him  saying: 

"'Tis  I  whose  eyes  expand,  my  love  to  find- 
How  shall  I  thank  thee — thou  so  true  and  kind.'* 

But  when  she  had  caressed  him,  she  saw  that  he  was 
weak  and  thin,  and  she  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  beloved,  where 
hast  thou  been?" 
Bazindah  replied: 

"Ask   me  not  what  woes,   my  love, — 
What   pangs  have  been   my  lot, 
All  the  grief  that  parting  brings, 
I've  tasted — ask   me   not. 
For  travel's  conflict  I'll   not  lust  again, 
With  home  and  friends  perpetual  pleasures  reign." 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  I  have  had  much 
experience,  and  as  long  as  I  live,  I  will  not  make 
another  journey,  nor  go  forth  until  compelled  from  the 
corner  of  our  nest."  Then  the  gentle  wife  flew  out  and 
brought  him  the  daintiest  food  she  could  find,  and  ten- 
derly she  caressed  the  wounded  wing  with  her  loving 
bill,  and  no  thought  of  reproaches  entered  her  grateful 
heart.  Gently  she  nursed  him  back  to  health  and 
strength,  and  together  they  cooed  and  nestled  in  their 
quiet  home. 

THE    BLIND    MAN   AND   HIS    WHIP. 

A  sage,  who  was  discoursing  to  a  king  upon  lessons 
of  wisdom  and  morality,  gave  him  the  following  illus- 
tration of  an  important  principle:  "  Once  upon  a  time 
a  blind  man  and  his  friend  were  making  a  journey  to- 


202  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

gether,  and  they  halted  in  a  wild  place  for  the  night ; 
the  morning  found  them  cold  and  little  rested,  for  the 
weather  had  suddenly  grown  severe.  In  searching  for 
his  whip  the  blind  man  picked  up  a  frozen  snake, 
which  he  found  smoother  and  more  nicely  polished 
than  his  whip,  and  greatly  pleased  he  mounted  his 
horse,  forgetting  the  faithful  old  whip  which  he  had 
lost.  His  friend,  however,  could  see,  and  when  he  be- 
held the  snake  in  the  hand  of  the  blind  man,  he  cried 
out:  '  Oh,  my  friend!  what  thou  takest  for  a  whip  is  a 
poisonous  snake,  fling  it  away  before  it  makes  a  wound 
upon  thy  hand/  But  the  blind  man  fancied  that  his 
friend  was  jealous  of  his  great  success  in  finding  so 
beautiful  a  whip,  and  he  answered:  'Oh,  friend!  it  is 
owing  to  my  good  luck,  that  I  have  found  a  better 
one,  and  I  am  not  going  to  be  wheedled  out  of  my 
good  fortune  by  idle  tales.'  His  friend  continued  to 
plead,  but  the  man  was  obstinate  and  conceited,  as 
well  as  blind,  and  he  became  angry  and  frowned  upon 
his  faithful  friend,  while  he  clung  closely  to  what  he 
believed  to  be  a  beautiful  thing.  After  a  time  the 
sun  rose  higher  in  the  heavens,  and  the  air  grew 
more  balmy,  the  snake  was  also  comforted  by  the 
warmth  of  the  blind  man's  body,  and  recovering  from 
her  torpor,  she  turned  backward,  and  bit  the  poor  fool 
who  had.  clung  to  her  because  he  fancied  she  was 
beautiful;  he  died  of  the  venom  given  in  the  wound." 
Then  said  the  sage,  "I  have  adduced  this  story  that 
thou  mayst  not  be  deceived  by  appearances  or  fascina- 
ted with  outward  charms,  which  are  as  deceitful  as  the 
beauties  of  a  snake.  Be  not  attracted  by  the  softness 
and  delicacy  of  flattery  and  hypocrisy,  for  their  poison 


THE  ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  203 

is  deadly  and  their  wound  is  fatal ;  it  is  far  better 
to  listen  to  the  admonitions  of  a  faithful  friend,  even 
though  his  advice  may  not  always  be  agreeable,  than 
to  be  led  into  the  snare  of  the  flatterer,  by  the  poison 
of  her  honeyed  words. 

'Think  not  sweet  sherbert  from  the  world  to  drink, 
Honey  with  poison  is  mingled   there, 

That  which  thou,  fondly,  dost  sweet  honey  think, 
Is  but  the  deadly  potion  of  despair/" 

AMICABLE    INSTRUCTION.1 

It  is  said  that  there  lived  a  wise  and  virtuous 
prince,  who  was  greatly  afflicted  with  the  conduct  of 
his  sons.  The  young  princes  "knew  no  books  and 
were  continually  working  in  evil  ways,"  therefore  the 
raja  asked  himself,  "Of  what  use  is  it  that  a  son 
should  be  born  who  has  neither  learning  nor  virtue  ? 
Of  what  use  is  a  blind  eye  except  to  give  pain?  Of 
a  child  unborn,  dead  or  ignorant,  the  two  first  are 
preferable,  since  they  make  us  unhappy  but  once,  and 
the  last  by  continual  degrees.  A  numerous  family  un- 
der such  circumstances  is  poison,  as  is  a  young  wife  to 
an  old  man." 

Considering  these  things,  the  king  gave  orders  for  a 
council  of  learned  men  to  be  called,  in  order  that 
they  might  study  the  solution  of  his  problem,  and 
devise,  if  possible,  some  method  by  which  his  sons 
might  be  taught  the  lessons  of  morality  and  wisdom. 

Among  the  wise  men  who  were  thus  called  to- 
gether, there  was  a  great  philosopher  named  Vishnu- 
sarman2  who  understood  the  principles  of  ethics.  He 

1  From  Sir  Wm.  Jones'  revision  of  the  Hitopadesa. 

2  Sometimes  called  Pilpay. 


204  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

declared  that  as  these  young  princes  were  born  of 
good  family  there  was  still  a  hope  of  their  reforma- 
tion, and  he  offered  to  give  them  the  necessary  in- 
struction. 

His  proposition  was  gladly  accepted  by  the  anxious 
father,  and  soon  the  class  was  called  together  on  the 
roof  of  the  palace  to  receive  the  instruction  of  the 
sage.  The  teacher  decided  to  interest  his  listeners, 
and  also  to  convey  the  lessons  of  morality  by  repeat- 
ing fables.  Therefore,  with  many  wise  admonitions, 
and  carefully  pointing  the  moral  of  each  lesson,  he 
told  them  the  following  stories : 

THE   PIGEONS  AND   THE   RAT. 

Near  the  Godavari  river  there  stood  a  large  Sal- 
mali  tree,  on  which  the  birds  found  their  nightly  rest. 
One  morning,  when  the  darkness  had  just  departed, 
leaving  the  moon — friend  of  the  night  flowers — still  in 
his  mansion,  a  raven  who  sat  in  the  tree  saw  a 
fowler  approaching  like  the  genius  of  death,  and  he 
said  to  himself,  "  This  morning  an  enemy  appears, 
and  I  know  not  what  poisonous  fruit  is  ripening." 
The  fowler  went  on,  however,  fixing  his  net  and 
scattering  grains  of  rice.  Soon  a  flock  of  pigeons,  led 
by  their  prince  Citagriva,  or  painted  neck,  came  flying 
that  way.  They  saw  the  rice  and  were  eagerly  de- 
scending, when  the  leader  counseled  caution,  for  he 
feared  a  snare;  but  led  away  by  their  appetites,  they 
all  flew  downward  upon  the  rice,  being  followed,  even 
by  the  leader,  who  was  unwilling  to  desert  the  flock. 
In  a  moment  more  they  were  snared.  But  although 
covetousness  had  brought  them  into  trouble,  the  leader 


THE   ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  205 

counseled  that  a  wise  unity  of  action  might  even  yet 
deliver  them  from  it.  He  ordered  that  they  should 
all  fly  together,  and  doing  so,  they  raised  the  net  and 
carried  it  along  with  them.  They  were  followed  by 
the  fowler,  who  expected  to  see  them  soon  fall  into 
his  power. 

In  a  wood  near  by  dwelt  a  rat,  who  was  a  friend 
of  Citagriva's,  and  to  him  they  directed  their  flight, 
coming  down  near  his  hole.  The  prisoned  birds  then 
besought  him  to  gnaw  the  strings  that  held  them. 
The  rat  replied  that  "to  abandon  our  own  is  not  the 
conduct  of  moralists.  Let  a  man  for  the  sake  of  re- 
lieving his  distresses  preserve  his  wealth ;  by  his 
wealth  let  him  preserve  his  wife,  and  by  both  wife 
and  riches  let  him  preserve  himself."  "  I  am  but 
weak,"  said  he,  "and  my  teeth  are  small,  but  as  long 
as  they  remain  unbroken  will  I  continue  to  cut  thy 
strings."  And  gnawing  dilligently  away,  he  severed 
their  bonds  and  received  them  as  guests. 

Thus  the  sage  taught  the  princes  that  "covetous- 
ness  leads  to  lust,  to  anger,  to  fraud  and  illusion." 
He  taught  also  that  the  union,  even  of  the  small 
and  the  weak,  is  beneficial,  and  also  that  the  humble 
friend  who  stands  by  us  faithfully,  in  the  hour  of  ad- 
versity, is  of  more  value  than  the  flatterers,  who  are 
watching  for  our  prosperity,  in  order  that  they  may 
absorb  our  gain. 

THE    ANTELOPE   AND   THE   CROW. 

In  the  country  of  Magadha  there  was  a  forest,  in 
which  an  antelope  and  crow  had  long  dwelt  in  friend- 
ship. The  antelope  was  fat,  and  his  flesh  was  greatly 


206  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

desired  by  a  jackal,  who  sought  to  obtain  it  by  gam- 
ing his  confidence.  Going  to  him,  therefore,  she 
pleaded  for  his  friendship,  saying,  "  I  am  friendless 
and  alone  like  a  dead  creature,  but  having  gained  thy 
friendship  I  shall  live  again,  and  I  will  ever  be  thy 
servant,"  and  saying  this,  she  slipped  into  his  home 
under  the  branches  of  a  tree,  where  dwelt  the  friendly 
crow.  Then  the  crow  inquired  of  the  antelope,  "Who 
is  this  comrade  of  thine  ?  "  And  the  antelope  replied, 
"It  is  a  jackal  who  is  my  chosen  friend."  "0  my 
beloved,"  said  the  crow,  "it  is  not  right  to  place  thy 
confidence  with  too  much  celerity."  But  in  vain  the 
faithful  bird  pleaded  with  the  infatuated  antelope,  who 
still  listened  eagerly  to  the  flatteries  of  the  jackal, 
until  the  aggrieved  and  disgusted  friend  flew  away 
to  another  part  of  the  wood. 

"  My  beloved  antelope,"  said  the  jackal  one  day  in 
her  softest  and  sweetest  tones,  "at  one  side  of  the 
wood  is  a  field  of  corn,  I  will  take  thee  there."  The 
antelope  found  the  corn  rich  and  tender,  and  going 
there  he  fed  freely.  The  owner  of  the  corn  perceived 
his  loss  as  the  wily  jackal  had  anticipated,  and  he 
spread  a  strong  net  there,  wherein  the  antelope  was 
captured.  The  jackal  crept  softly  near,  saying  to  her- 
self, "  It  has  befallen  as  I  wished,  and  soon  I  shall  sat- 
isfy my  appetite  on  his  tender  flesh."  As  soon  as  the 
antelope  perceived  his  false  friend  he  was  glad,  for  he 
anticipated  deliverance  by  the  gnawing  of  his  bonds. 
The  jackal  examined  the  net,  and  congratulating  her- 
self that  it  was  strong,  she  said,  "  Oh,  my  beloved,  I 
cannot  do  it  to-day,  but  to-morrow  I  will  come  and 
deliver  thee,"  and  going  away  a  short  distance  she 


THE   ANWAR-I-SUIIALI.  207 

awaited  for  him  to  die  in  order  that  she  might  regale 
herself  upon  his  flesh.  The  crow,  however,  in  flying  over 
the  wood£  saw  the  condition  of  his  imprudent  friend, 
and  hastened  to  his  side.  "This,"  said  the  antelope 
"is  the  consequence  of  rejecting  friendly  counsel.  The 
man  who  listens  not  to  the  words  of  affectionate  friends, 
will  give  joy  in  the  moment  of  distress  to  his  enemies." 

"Where  is  the  jackal?"  inquired  the  crow.  "She 
is  near  by,"  answered  the  antelope,  "  waiting  to  feed 
upon  my  flesh."  "This  I  predicted,"  said  the  crow. 
"I  escape  such  calamities  because  I  .place  no  such 
trust ;  the  wise  are  continually  in  dread  of  wicked  asso- 
ciations. A  pretended  friend  who  flatters  thee  should 
be  shunned  as  a  dish  of  milk  with  poison  at  its  brim. 
Contract  no  friendship  with  flatterers ;  at  first  they  fall 
at  your  feet  in  their  anxiety  to  drink  your  blood  ;  they 
hum  strange  tunes  in  your  ears  with  soft  murmurs, 
and,  having  found  an  opening,  they  will  ruin  you  with- 
out remorse." 

The  faithful  crow  watched  until  he  saw  the  farmer 
approaching,  then  he  said  to  the  antelope,  "Feign  to  be 
dead  and  remain  motionless  until  thou  hearest  me  make 
a  noise,  then  run  swiftly  away." 

The  owner  of  the  corn,  with  his  eyes  flooded  with 
joy,  saw  the  antelope  who  pretended  to  be  dead,  so  he 
took  away  the  snare,  and  was  busily  engaged  in  taking 
care  of  his  net,  when  the  crow  cried  out,  and  the  ante- 
lope hearing  the  signal,  bounded  to  his  feet  and  ran 
away  with  great  speed.  The  disappointed  farmer  threw 
a  club  after  him,  and  struck  the  deceitful  jackal,  who 
was  hidden  in  a  bush,  for  thus  it  is  written:  "In 


208  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

three  years,  in  three  months,  in  three  days,  the  fruit  of 
great  vices  may  be  reaped,  even  in  this  world." 

THE   BRAHMAN    AND    THE   ICHNEUMON. 

There  was  a  Brahman  named  Modeva,  who  lived 
alone  with  his  wife  and  their  infant  daughter.  One 
day  the  mother  went  away  to  perform  her  ablutions  and 
acts  of  adoration.  She  therefore  left  the  child  in  the 
father's  care.  Soon  after  the  mother  left  home  a  great 
raja  sent  for  the  Brahman  to  perform  a  religious  cere- 
mony called  the  Sraddha,  or  offerings  to  the  ghosts  of 
his  ancestors.  It  is  customary  upon  these  occasions  to 
bestow  rich  presents  upon  the  officiating  Brahman  or 
priest,  and  this  was  an  opportunity  that  ought  not  to 
be  lost.  Knowing  that  if  he  did  not  go  promptly  an- 
other would  be  called  in  his  place,  he  committed  the 
care  of  his  child  to  a  faithful  ichneumon,  which  he 
had  long  cherished,  and  having  done  so,  he  hastened 
away  to  obey  the  call  of  the  raja.  Soon  after  he  went 
away  a  terrible  serpent  crawled  into  the  little  home  and 
approached  the  child.  He  was  attacked,  however,  by 
the  faithful  ichneumon,  who  killed  him  and  cut  him  in 
pieces;  then  seeing  his  master  returning  the  animal  ran 
to  meet  him,  even  while  his  mouth  and  paws  were  still 
wet  with  the  blood  of  the  serpent.  Seeing  him  thus, 
the  Brahman  promptly  decided  that  he  had  killed  the 
child,  and  in  his  rage  he  slew  the  ichneumon.  Then 
going  to  his  house  he  found  the  babe  sleeping  peace- 
fully with  the  mangled  body  of  the  snake  beside  it. 
Then,  indeed,  he  knew  that,  in  his  haste  and  unreason- 
able anger,  he  had  slain  the  faithful  protector  of  his 
child.  Therefore,  he  who  knows  not  the  first  principle, 


THE   ANWAK-I-SUHALI.  209 

and  the  first  cause,  and  who  is  in  subjection  to  his 
wrath,  is  tormented  like  a  fool.  Let  not  a  man  per- 
form an  act  hastily.  Want  of  circumspection  is  a  great 
cause  of  danger. 

THE   ELEPHANT   AND    THE    JACKAL. 

In  a  forest  there  lived  an  elephant  in  quietness 
and  in  peace,  but  there  were  hungry  jackals  around 
him  who  thirsted  for  his  blood.  They  conferred 
among  themselves,  and  decided  to  accomplish  by  strata- 
gem that  which  they  could  not  hope  to  effect  by 
for-ce.  Then  a  wily  old  jackal  approached  the  ele- 
phant, and  saluting  him  most  humbly  he  thus  ad- 
dressed him,  "  Royal  sir,  wilt  thou  grant  me  an  inter- 
view?" "Who  art  thou,"  said  the  elephant,  "and 
why  dost  thou  come  hither?"  "I  am  a  jackal/'  he 
replied,  "and  my  name  is  Little  and  Wise.  I  am 
sent  into  thine  august  presence  by  the  assembled  in- 
habitants of  these  woods.  Since  this  vast  forest  ought 
not  to  be  compelled  to  exist  without  a  king,  it  is 
therefore  determined  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  wash- 
ing thee,  and  thus  installing  thee  as  the  sovereign  of 
the  forest.  It  is  said  that  he  who  is  eminent  in  birth, 
in  virtue  and  justice — he  who  is  perfect  in  words,  is  fit 
to  be  the  ruler  of  the  world.  Therefore,  we  salute 
thee  as  our  king.  Now  I  beseech  thee  to  come  quickly, 
lest  the  fortunate  time  for  thine  inauguration  should 
slip  away."  So  saying  he  walked  hastily  away,  and 
the  conceited  elephant  elated  with  the  hope  of  royalty, 
followed  the  jackal  until  he  came  into  a  little  pool, 
wherein  his  immense  weight  caused  him  to  slowly 
sink  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom. 


210  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

"Friend  Jackal,"  said  he  "what  can  be  done  for 
me  ?  I  have  fallen  into  the  mire  so  deeply  that  I 
cannot  rise  out  of  it."  Thereupon  the  jackal  laughed 
loudly  and  rushed  away  to  find  those  who  were  to 
feast  with  him  upon  the  flesh  of  the  elephant. 

Then  said  the  elephant  sadly,  "Such  is  the  fruit 
of  my  confidence  in  your  deceitful  speeches.  It  is, 
indeed,  true  that  if  thou  enjoyest  the  company  of  the 
good,  then  wilt  thou  thyself  be  happy  and  virtuous, 
but  if  thou  fallest  into  the  company  of  the  wicked, 
then  thou  wilt  fall  indeed." 

So  saying  he  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  and  soon 
became  the  food  of  his  flatterers.  It  is  safe  to  con- 
tract no  friendship — not  even  acquaintance  with  the 
deceitful,  for  the  hypocrite  resembles  a  coal,  which 
when  hot  burneth  the  hand,  and  when  cold  black- 
ens it. 

GEMS   FROM   THE    HITOPADESA. 

As  there  are  many  gems  in  this  quaint  old  volume 
of  fables  which  are  well  worthy  of  preservation,  the 
best  of  them  are  here  presented  :. 

1.  "Always  avoid  flatterers    and  hypocrites;    their 
tongues  claim  to  be   covered    with   honey,   while   their 
hearts  are  filled  with  poison,  and  a  desire  to  suck  the 
blood  of  their  victim." 

2.  "The    learned  man   may   fix    his    thoughts    on 
science  and  wealth,  as  if  he  were  never  to  grow  old  or 
to  die ;   but  when   death   seizes   him   by  the   locks    he 
must  practice  virtue." 

3.  "Knowledge  produces  mildness  of  speech  ;  mild- 
ness of  speech  a    good    character ;    a    good   character 


THE   ANWAR-I-SUHALI.  211 

wealth,  and  wealth,  if  virtuous  actions  attend   it,   pro- 
duces happiness." 

4.  "Among    all    possessions,    knowledge     appears 
eminent ;    the  wise  call   it  supreme    riches,  because   it 
never  can   be  lost,  has   no  price,  and  can   at  no  time 
be  destroyed." 

5.  "  Knowledge  acquired  by  a  man  of  low  degree 
places  him  on    a    level   with   the    prince,   as  a    small 
river  at    last    attains    the    ocean,   and    his  fortune  is 
then  exalted." 

6.  "  The  science  of  arms  and  the  science  of  books 
are  both  causes  of  celebrity,   but    the    first  is   ridicu- 
lous in  an  old  man,   and  the    second    is  in    all  ages 
respectable." 

7.  "  Learning     dissipates     many     doubts,      causes 
things  otherwise   invisible  to  be   seen,  and   is   the  eye 
of  every  one  that  is  not   absolutely  blind." 

8.  "  Knowledge  forgotten  is  poison,  food  is  poison 
to  him  who  cannot  digest  it ;    a  numerous  family  is 
poison  to  the  indigent,  and   a   young   wife    is    poison 
to  an  old  mate." 

9.  "  Life,   action,   property,  knowledge,  and  death, 
these  five  were  formed  for  all." 

10.  "  The    potter     forms     what     he    pleases    with 
moulded  clay,  so  a  man  accomplishes  his  own  works." 

11.  "Prosperity  is  acquired  by  exertion,  and  there 
is  no  fruit  for  him  who  doth  not  exert   himself;   the 
fawns  go  not  into  the  mouth  of  a  sleeping  lion." 

12.  "Knowledge    is   destroyed   by  associating  with 
the  base,  with  equals  equality  is  gained,  and  with  the 
distinguished,  distinction." 

13.  "Virtues   to   those  who   know   their  value   are 


212  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

virtues,  but  even  these,  when  they  come  in  the  way 
of  the  vicious,  are  vices;  as  rivers  of  sweet  water  are 
excellent,  but  when  they  reach  the  sea  are  not  fit  to 
be  tasted." 

14.  "He  who  restrains  his  appetite,  a  dutiful   son, 
a  prudent   and   good    wife,   and    he   who  acts  consid- 
erately, give  birth  to  no  misfortune." 

15.  "In    perils   we    prove    a    friend;    in  battle   a 
hero ;     in    contracted    fortunes    a    wise    man,   and    in 
calamity  our  kinsmen." 

16.  "Thus  may   the  character  of  treacherous  per- 
sons be  described  ;   at  first  they  fall  at  your  feet,  and 
then  drink  your    blood  ;    thus    the    false   friends  and 
black  gnats  practice  alike  every  mode   of    treachery." 

17.  "Make  no   league   with  an  avowed  enemy,  or 
with  a  flatterer.     Water,  though   well    warmed,    would 
quench,  nevertheless,    the  fire   that   warmed   it." 

18.  "  If  the  friendship  of  the  good   be  interrupted 
their  minds  admit  of   no    long   change  ;    as   when   the 
stalks  of  the    lotus  are   broken,    the    filaments  within 
them  are  more  visibly  connected." 

19.  "  Charity,   forbearance,    participation    in   pains 
and  pleasures,  goodness  of  heart,   and  truth  ;  these  are 
the  sciences  of  friendship." 

20.  "  Goodness  and  truth  are  discerned   by  a  man's 
discourse,  but  cowardice  and  a  variable  mind  are  easily 
discerned  by  his  conduct." 

21.  "It  is  one  thing  to  hear  the  words  of  a  friend 
whose  heart  is  pure  as  water,  and  another  to  hear  the 
words  of  a  base  dissembler." 

22.  "A  wise  man  walks  slowly  and   circumspectly, 


THE  AXWAR-I-SUHALI.  213 

and  lives  in  one  place,  nor  having  seen  another  station 
should  he  desert  his  former  abode." 

23.  "  It   is    easy  for   all    men  to  display   learning 
in  instructing  others,  but   it  is  the  part  of  one  endued 
with  a  great  mind    to   form    himself   by    the  rules   of 
justice." 

24.  "As    those    who    have   caught    cold,    take   no 
pleasure  in  moonshine,  or  those  who  have  fever,  in  the 
heat  of    the  sun,    so  the  mind   of   a  woman   delights 
not  a  husband  where  there  is  great  disparity  of  years." 

25.  "It  is  better  to  pull   up  by  the  roots  a  loose 
tooth,  and  a  wicked  counsellor." 

26.  "  He  is  a  friend  whom   favors  have   not   pur- 
chased, and   he  is  a   man  who  is  not  subdued   by  his 


27.  "The  seed  of  good  advice  must  be  cherished 
with  extreme  care,  it  must  not  be  broken  ever  so  lit- 
tle, if  it  be,  it  will  not  grow." 

28.  "A    hundred    good    words   are   lost    upon    the 
wicked ;   a  hundred  wise  words  are  lost  upon  a   fool ; 
a  hundred  good   precepts  are  lost  upon  the  obstinate, 
and  a  hundred  sciences  upon  those  who  never  reflect." 

29.  "A  serpent   drinking  milk    only   increases   his 
venom,  thus  a  fool  being  admonished  is  provoked,  but 
not  benefitted.     A  sensible    man   may   be  admonished, 
but  not  a  fool." 

30.  "He   who  knows  not  his  own   weakness   must 
be  routed  by  flatterers  and  enemies." 

31.  "A  great   man  becomes  little,   and   his  virtue 
is  diminished  by  associating  with  an  unprincipled  per- 


CHAPTER  X. 

PERSIAN  POETRY. 

SEVEN  ERAS — THE  FIRST  PERIOD — THE  HOMER  OF  IRAN 
— THE  SHAH  NAMAH— HISTORY  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EPIC 
— FIRDUSl — INVECTIVE— MUTESHIM — THE  SHAH'S  RE- 
PENTANCE— DEATH  OF  FIRDUSI — THE  POEM. 

THE  history  of  Persian  poetry  may  be  divided  into 
seven  distinct  periods  of  from  one  to  two  cen- 
turies each. 

The  first  period  reaches  from  the  beginning  of  the 
tenth  century  to  the  close  of  the  eleventh,  and  it  may 
be  said  to  represent  the  national  poetry  in  its  original 
purity.  Previous  to  this  time,  there  had  been  fragments 
of  verse,  which  had  been  composed  by  Bahrani  Gor,  a 
Sassanian  king,  and  a  few  other  authors,  but  this  early 
literature  had  perished  at  the  hands  of  the  Moslem  in- 
vaders. The  conquerors  not  only  destroyed,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  literature  of  Iran,  but  even  discarded  the 
language,  using  Arabic  in  all  official  documents.  The 
vitality  of  the  Persian  tongue,  however,  was  so  great 
that  the  patriotic  people  finally  founded  another  national 
literature,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Samanian  kings. 

To  this  period  belonged,  Rudiiki,  who  has  been 
called  "The  father  of  Persian  poetry,"  and  who  was 
said  to  be  the  author  of  one  hundred  volumes  of  verse, 
besides  his  metrical  version  of  the  work  which  has  been 

214 


PERSIAN  POE±RY.  215 

discussed  in  the  previous  chapter  under  the  Peroian 
name  of  Anwar-i-Suhali.  To  this  period  also  belonged 
Omar  Khayyam,  who  was  a  mathematician  as  well  as  a 
poet.  His  beautiful  quatrains  are  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  rubii'i  of  Abu  Sa'Id,  who  was  his  predecessor 
in  this  peculiar  style  of  verse,  and  his  rhapsodies  upon 
love  and  wine  resemble  those  of  Hafiz. 

The  position  of  "  King  of  Poets,"  which  was  estab- 
lished by  Mahmud  the  Ghaznevide,  is  still  maintained 
at  the  court  of  Persia,  as  well  as  in  England,  where 
Tennyson  so  long  filled  the  office  of  Poet  Laureate. 
Firdusi  was  the  great  literary  light  of  the  first  period 
of  Persian  poetry,  indeed  he  was  the  Homer  of  Iran, 
and  his  great  epic  will  always  command  the  first  posi- 
tion among  the  poetical  productions  of  his  native  land. 

THE  SHAH   NAMAH. 

During  the  reigns  of  the  Sassanian  and  Ashkanian 
princes  over  Persia,  extensive  researches  were  made  to 
collect  the  most  authentic  materials1  for  a  general 
history  of  that  country.  This  work  having  been  accom- 
plished during  the  reign  of  Yezdejird,  that  monarch 
called  upon  the  priests  of  the  Fire  worship  to  write 
out  the  annals  of  Persia  from  the  reign  of  Eeiumers 
down  to  the  end  of  that  of  Khosru  Parviz.  Their 
work  was  completed,  but  this  and  other  valuable 
manuscripts  were  carried  away  with  the  spoil  of  the 

i  That  there  were  historic  materials  of  great  antiquity,  we  have  the 
testimony  of  Herodotus  and  Ctesius,  and  also  of  the  book  of  Esther—"  On 
that  night  the  king  could  not  sleep  and  he  commanded  to  bring  the 
books  of  records  of  the  chronicles,  and  they  were  read  before  the  king." 
—Esther  vi,  1.  Also  it  is  written,  "  And  all  the  a«ts  of  his  power  and 
his  might  and  the  declaration  of  the  greatness  of  Mordecai,  are  they  not 
written  in  the  books  of  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Media  and  Persia  f" 
—Esther  x,  2. 


216  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

conquerors  after  the  great  victory  of  Saad  Vekas  over 
Yezdejird.1  It  was  brought  before  Omar,  and  ho  sent 
it,  with  other  portions  of  the  spoils  to  the  king  of 
Abyssinia,  who  had  several  copies  made,  and  distrib- 
uted them  among  his  friends  in  different  portions  of 
the  East.  In  this  way  the  valuable  work  was  pre- 
served, and  in  the  course  of  years  reached  Khorasan. 
In  the  ninth  century2  the  Persian  king,  Yakub  bin 
Leith  called  a  council  of  the  most  learned  Fire- 
worshippers,  and  with  their  assistance  selected  the  best 
materials  for  continuing  the  history  of  Persia  down  to 
the  final  defeat  of  Yezdejird,  and  they  also  added  to 
it  the  ancient  history  by  Danishber  Dehkan,  which  in 
the  meantime  had  been  translated  into  modern  Persian. 
When  Shah  Mahmud  Sabuktugm  came  to  the 
throne,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  having  the  history  of 
Persia  versified  in  such  a  form  that  it  would  be  appre- 
ciated by  his  poetry-loving  people,  and  after  many 
tests  of  the  poetic  ability  of  his  literary  subjects,  he 
finally  confided  the  works  to  the  hands  of 

FIRDUSl. 

This  celebrated  poet,  whose  true  name  was  Abul 
Kasin,3  was  a  native  of  Tus,  a  city  of  Khorasan,  and 
many  happy  hours  of  his  boyhood  were  spent  on  the 
banks  of  the  beautiful  river  that  swept  along  its 
course  near  his  home.  But  the  rebellious  waters  occa- 
sionally flooded  their  banks,  leaving  ruin  in  their 

i  A.  D.  636.  2  A.  D.  837. 

3  The  name  of  Firdusi  is  said  to  have  been  given  him  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Tus,  because  his  garden,  which  was  called  Ferdus  (Paradise), 
was  looked  after  by  the  father  and  brother  of  the  poet,  and  it  was  in  this 
delightful  spot  that  he  began  the  versification  of  the  great  national  epic, 
the  Shah  Namah. 


PEBSIAN   POETRY.  217 

i,  and  the  dream  of  the  young  poet's  life  was  the 
hope  that  some  day  he  might  command  the  means  to 
build  a  suitable  bridge  over  this  turbulent  stream,  and 
also  to  confine  its  rising  waters  within  banks  of  solid 
masonry.  When,  therefore,  he  received  the  royal  com- 
mission to  write  the  long  Persian  epic,  he  felt  that 
this  great  public  improvement  was  within  his  reach, 
and  he  gladly  undertook  the  task.  After  several  sam- 
ples of  his  poem  had  been  presented  to  the  Shah,  the 
prime  minister  was  ordered  to  pay  the  poet  a  thou- 
sand drachms  of  gold  for  every  thousand  couplets 
which  he  produced  until  the  work  was  completed. 

A  magnificent  residence  was  erected  for  Firdusi 
near  the  palace  of  the  king,  and  the  best  painters  of 
the  age  were  employed  to  cover  the  walls  with  the 
portraits  of  kings  and  heroes,  with  paintings  of  battles 
and  sieges,  with  the  most  imposing  military  scenes, 
and  everything  that  could  excite  the  martial  valor  and 
fire  the  imagination  of  the  writer. 

The  only  member  of  the  court  with  whom  the  poet 
was  not  upon  friendly  terms  was  the  conceited  prime 
minister,  who  expected,  and  generally  received,  almost 
as  much  adulation  from  the  court  poets  as  the  king 
himself.  Firdusi  refused  to  render  him  this  servile 
homage,  and  not  only  so,  but  finally  ignored  him  to 
such  an  extent  that  he  would  not  go  to  his  house  to 
receive  the  payment  of  gold  coin  which  became  due 
upon  the  completion  of  each  thousand  couplets.  The 
only  reason  he  gave  for  this  was  that  he  preferred  to 
receive  the  whole  amount  at  once,  and  thereby  be 
enabled  to  carry  out  his  favorite  project  and  build  a 
bridge  in  his  native  city. 


218  PERSIAN   LiTEKATUKE. 

All  of  these  little  exhibitions  of  animosity  on  the 
part  of  the  poet  combined  to  make  him  offensive  to 
the  vizier,  and  gave  opportunities  to  other  envious 
courtiers  to  cultivate  the  favor  of  the  prime  minister 
by  flatteries  of  himself,  and  curses  upon  the  head  of 
Firdusi. 

At  the  end  of  thirty  years  of  hard  work  the  Shah 
Namah  was  completed,  consisting  of  sixty  thousand 
couplets.  The  vizier  then  revenged  himself  upon  the 
poet  by  misrepresenting  the  condition  of  the  treasury 
to  the  king,  and,  urging  upon  him  the  absurdity  of 
paying  such  an  enormous  price  for  a  poem,  he  finally 
induced  him  to  send  to  the  poet  sixty  thousand 
drachms  of  silver  instead  of  the  gold  which  he  had 
promised. 

Firdusi  was  coming  out  of  his  bath  when  the  bags 
of  silver  arrived  from  the  treasury,  and  learning  the 
value  of  their  contents  he  contemptuously  gave  them 
away,  giving  recklessly,  and  without  judgment,  until 
the  sum  was  exhausted. 

This  insult  to  the  Shah  was  duly  reported  and  exag- 
gerated by  the  prime  minister,  and  while  the  monarch 
was  furious  with  rage,  the  poet,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  vizier,  was  condemned  to  be  trampled  to  death  by 
elephants.  His  apartments,  however,  being  close  to  the 
royal  residence,  he  took  advantage  of  that  fact  and 
threw  himself  at  the  king's  feet,  suing  for  pardon,  and 
this  was  granted  upon  the  condition  of  his  immediate 
departure  from  the  city.  Sick  at  heart,  and  burning 
with  indignation,  he  sought  the  apartment  of  the 
king's  favorite  attendant,  Ayaz,  who  had  always  been 
a  faithful  friend  to  the  bard.  To  him  Firdusi  related 


PERSIAN   POETKY.  219 

his  story,  and  from  him  received  the  fullest  sympathy. 
Here  he  wrote  a  bitter  poetic  invective  against  the 
Shah,  and  having  sealed  it  up,  requested  Ayaz  to 
deliver  it  to  him  after  the  poet's  departure,  and  also 
to  choose  the  time  for  doing  so  when  some  defeat  had 
rendered  the  Shah  more  low-spirited  than  usual. 

INVECTIVE. 

"  In   Mahmud   shall  we   hope   to   find 
One  virtue   to   redeem   his  mind  ? 
A   mind   no   generous   transports  fill, 
To  truth,  to  faith,  to  justice  chill. 

"  Son  of  a  slave.     His  diadem 
In  vain  may  glow    with   many   a  gem. 
Exalted   high   in   power  and   place, 
Outbursts  the   meanness  of   his  race. 

"  Place   thou   within   the  spicy   nest, 
Where  the  bright   phoenix   loves   to   rest 
A  raven's  egg — and   mark  it  well, 
AVhen  the  vile  bird  has  chipped  its  shell, 
Though  fed  with  grains  from  trees  that  grow 
Where   Salesbel's '  sweetest  waters  flow — 
Though  airs  from   Gabriel's  wings  may  rise 
To  fan   the  cradle  where   he   lies ; 
Though  long  these  patient  cares  endure, 
It  proves  at  last   a  bird  impure. 

"  A  viper  nurtured   in  a  bed 
Where  roses  all  their  beauties  spread, 
Though  nourished  with  the  drops  alone 
Of  waves  that  spring  from  Allah's  throne, 

i  The  sacred  well  at  Mecca,  the  waters  of  which  are  claimed  to  have 
wondrous  healing  power. 


220  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Is  still  a  poisonous  reptile  found, 
And  with  its  venom  taints  the  ground. 

"  This  truth  our  holy  prophet  sung — 
All  things  return  from  whence  they  sprung. 
Pass  near  the  merchant's  fragrant  wares, 
Thy  robe  the  scent  of  amber  bears ; 
Go  where   the   smith   his  trade  pursues, 
Thy  mantle's   folds  have  dusky   hues. 

"  Let  not  those   deeds  thy  mind  amaze 
A   mean  and   worthless   man  displays. 
An   Ethiop's  skin  becomes  not  white, 
Thou  canst  not  change  the  clouds  of  night. 
What   poet   shall   attempt  to   sing 
The  praises  of  a  vicious  king? 

"  Hadst  thou,   degenerate  prince,  but  shown 
One  single  virtue  as  thy  own, 
Had  honor,  faith,  adorned  thy  brow, 
My  fortunes  had   not  sunk  as  now  ; 
But   thou   hadst  gloried   in  my  fame, 
And  built  thyself  a  deathless  name. 

"  Oh  Mahmud,    though  thou   fear'st  me  not, 
Heaven's  vengeance  will   not   be   forgot. 
Shrink,   tyrant,   from   my  words  of  fire, 
And   tremble  at  a  poet's  ire." 

The  indignant  and  unfortunate  bard  escaped  from 
Ghizni  by  night,  on  foot  and  alone,  for  his  friends 
dared  not  incur  the  enmity  of  the  king  by  render- 
ing him  any  assistance.  Ayaz  alone  had  the  gener- 
ous courage  to  brave  the  Shah's  displeasure  by  aiding 
the  refugee.  He  sent  a  trusty  slave  after  him,  who 


PERSIAN    POETRY.  221 

soon  overtook  him,  and  giving  him  the  horse  and  a 
sum  of  money  and  other  little  comforts  for  his  jour- 
ney, besought  him  in  the  name  of  Ayaz  to  hasten 
out  of  the  territory  of  Shah  Mahmud  if  he  valued 
his  life. 

MtHTESHIM. 

In  the  meantime  reports  of  the  vizier's  animosity 
and  of  the  sultan's  cowardice  were  spread  all  over  the 
country,  exciting  universal  detestation  of  the  king  and 
his  minister.  The  accounts  of  the  poet's  misfortunes 
and  the  king's  injustice  reached  Muhteshim,  the  prince 
of  Kohistan,  about  the  time  the  fugitive  approached  his 
seat  of  government.  This  prince  was  the  dear  friend 
of  Shah  Mahmud,  and  bound  to  him  by  ties  of  grati- 
tude for  countless  favors,  but  he  hesitated  not  to  show 
his  respect  for  genius,  and  he  sent  a  deputation  of 
learned  and  distinguished  men  to  meet  Firdusi  and 
invite  him  to  the  royal  presence.  In  the  midst  of  this 
flattering  and  honorable  reception  Muhteshim  learned 
that  the  offended  poet  intended  to  publish  a  satirical 
work,  holding  up  to  the  detestation  of  the  world  the 
treachery  of  Mahmud,  and  he  endeavored  to  dissuade 
him  from  this  act  of  revenge,  which  he  considered  un- 
worthy of  the  greatest  literary  genius  of  the  age.  The 
poet 'afterward  sent  him  an  hundred  indignant  couplets, 
that  the  prince  might  destroy  them  himself.  Firdusi 
stated  in  a  letter  sent  with  the  lines  that,  although  he 
dreaded  not  the  anger  of  Mahmud,  still,  out  of  grateful 
friendship  for  the  generous  Muhteshim,  he  gave  up  the 
cutting  rebuke.  The  closing  paragraph  states  that — 

"On  thy  account,  most  amiable  prince,  do  I  now  con- 


222  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

sent  to  transfer  my  just  revenge  from  this  vain  world 
to  a  higher  court." 

Miihteshim  presented  Firdusi  with  a  goodly  sum  of 
money  and  forwarded  him  on  his  journey,  fearful  lest 
the  sultan's  rage  or  the  vizier's  malice  might  overtake 
and  ruin  him. 

This  proved  to  be  a  wise  precaution,  for  the  king 
had  discovered  a  sarcastic  epigram  which  Firdusi  had 
written  on  the  wall  of  the  great  mosque  the  night  of 
his  departure,  and  on  the  next  day  Ayaz  delivered  to 
the  furious  monarch  the  insulting  letter  which  the  poet 
had  left  with  him  for  that  purpose,  and  a  large  re- 
ward was  offered  for  the  apprehension  of  the  fugitive. 
At  length,  however,  the  sultan  received  a.  long  letter 
from  his  friend  Muhteshim,  who  related  his  meeting 
with  Firdusi,  now,  in  his  old  age,  a  penniless  wand- 
erer, after  having  devoted  the  best  years  of  his  life  in 
the  constant  exercise  of  his  great  talents  for  the  exe- 
cution of  his  king's  wishes,  and  gently  reproached  the 
Shah  for  allowing  himself  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the 
evil  advice  of  malicious  courtiers;  he  also  informed 
him  of  the  forgiving  spirit  the  poet  had  manifested  in 
destroying  his  own  brilliant  satire  which  was  composed 
at  the  monarch's  expense,  and  closed  the  letter  by 
quoting  the  couplet  which  Firdusi  had  used  in  the 
lette'r  to  himself. 

The  complaints  from  his  subjects  also  began  to  come 
to  the  royal  ears,  and  all  of  this,  together  with  the 
reproaches  of  his  own  conscience,  produced  in  his  mind 
a  strange  combination  of  grief  and  rage,  of  indigna- 
tion and  regret.  He  disgraced  the  malicious  vizier, 
and  fined  him  sixty  thousand  drachms  of  gold,  the 


PERSIAN    POETRY.  223 

same  amount  which  he  had  prevented  him  from  pay- 
ing to  Firdusi,  and  deeply  regretted  his  own  injustice 
to  the  gifted  bard ;  but  still,  he  could  not  forgive  the 
cutting  satire  of  the  letter  which  had  been  brought 
him  by  Ayaz,  in  which  the  poet  had  taunted  him  with 
his  low  birth  as  being  one  of  the  causes  of  his  cow- 
ardice and  meanness. 

DEATH    OF    FIRDUSI. 

Firdusi  was  protected  by  the  Arabian  government, 
and  after  some  years  returned  and  lived  with  his  fam- 
ily at  Tus,  but  he  was  old,  grieved  and  broken  down, 
and  at  last  he  died  in  his  quiet  home,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three.  In  the  meantime  Shah  Mahmud,  hear 
ing  of  his  return  to  Tus,  and  anxious  to  render  jus- 
tice, though  tardily,  to  the  man  he  had  wronged,  sent 
an  envoy  with  sixty  thousand  drachms  of  gold,  to- 
gether with  quantities  of  silks,  brocades,  vjelvets,  and 
other  costly  presents,  to  Firdusi  as  a  peace  offering. 
But  as  the  royal  train  of  loaded  camels  entered  one 
gate  of  the  city  a  mournful  procession  went  out  of 
another,  and  followed  the  dead  poet  to  the  place  of 
his  burial. 

The  Shah's  ambassadors  offered  the  presents  in- 
tended for  Firdusi  to  his  only  daughter,  but  she  pos- 
sessed her  father's  spirit,  and  haughtily  dismissed  the 
courtiers,  rejecting  their  gifts  with  proud  disdain. 

The  Shah,  wishing  to  make  some  offering  to  the 
memory  of  the  departed  poet,  ordered  the  sum  which 
had  been  intended  for  him  to  be  expended  in  erecting 
a  caravansera  and  bridge  in  Tus,  in  accordance  with 
Firdusi's  life-long  ambition.  These  monuments  of  the 


224  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

poet's  fame  and  of  the  king's  tardy  justice  existed  for 
many  years,  until  destroyed  by  an  invading  army  of 
Ousbegs  under  Obeid  Khan. 

THE   POEM. 

This  great  epic,  which  was  written  under  royal 
favor,  though  its  author  afterward  suffered  from  royal 
scorn,  is  a  valuable  Persian  classic.  In  the  Persian 
tongue  it  exists  only  in  manuscript  form,  and  its  text 
was  corrupted  by  ignorant  transcribers  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  excited  the  indignation  of  the  sultan 
(a  grandson  of  Timur,  who  reigned  in  the  fifteenth 
century),  and  he  collected  a  vast  number  of  copies 
of  the  work;  from  these  he  had  a  transcript  made, 
which  was,  perhaps,  tolerably  correct. 

But  since  that  time  copies  have  been  so  greatly 
multiplied  and  their  contents  differ  so  widely,  that  it 
is  only  by  a  careful  collation  and  comparison  of  man- 
uscripts that  scholars  can  hope  to  arrive  at  a  reason- 
able degree  of  correctness.  These  manuscripts  are  finely 
executed  and  highly  ornamental,  having  the  frontis- 
piece and  titles  beautifully  illuminated  and  sprinkled 
with  gold;  the  volumes  are  of  ton  profusely  illustrated 
by  colored  drawings  of  exquisite  finish.  They  cost 
about  one  hundred  guineas,  or  about  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  each.  But  although  these  manu- 
scripts can  only  be  multiplied  at  such  great  expense, 
the  original  work  has  lived  through  eight  centuries,  and 
is  still  the  most  popular  epic  in  the  Persian  tongue. 

The  author   of   the  Shah    Namah l  has    often    been 

i  In  addition  to  the  Shah  Namah,  Firdusi  composed  a  poem  of  nine  thou- 
sand couplets  on  the  loves  of  Yusuf  and  Zulaikha,  that  abounds  in  elegant 


PERSIAN    POETRY.  225 

called  the  Homer  of  the  East,  Firdusi  occupying  the 
same  position  in  relation  to  other  Persian  poets  that 
Homer  has  so  long  held  in  the  West.  Like  Homer, 
too,  he  describes  a  rude  age,  where  muscular  strength 
and  animal  courage  were  chiefly  valued.  The  corre- 
spondence is  very  striking  between  the  old  heroic  times 
which  were  described  by  Firdusi  and  Homer,  and  the 
pictures  which  are  sometimes  given  us  of  the  age  of 
European  chivalry.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Moors 
carried  into  Spain  the  poetry  and  romance  of  Arabia 
and  Persia,  and  some  of  our  best  fiction  is  supposed 
to  be  derived  from  that  source. 

Although  Firdusi  wrote  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century,  it  was  not  until  the  twelfth  that 
the  romances  of  chivalry  began  to  amuse  the  Western 
world.  The  "  Orlando  Innamorato,"  a  poem  by  Bay- 
ardo,  which  was  afterward  improved  q,nd  paraphrased 
by  Berni,  gave  life  and  character  to  a  great  number 
of  the  stories  of  chivalry.  In  a  similar  way  the  Shah 
NYimah  was  largely  indebted  to  the  Bustau-Namah, 
which  comprised  the  chronicles,  histories,  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  Persians,  collected  under  the  patronage  of 
Yezdjird,  the  last  king  of  the  Sassanian  race.  Like 
the  beautiful  Rfmayana  and  the  martial  Maha-bharata 
of  the  Hindus,  the  Shah  Namah  claims  to  be  a  his- 
tory in  rhyme.  It  is  supposed  to  comprise  the  annals 
and  achievements  of  the  ancient  kings  of  Persia  from 
Kaiumers1  down  to  the  Saracenic  invasion  and  con- 

and  spirited  diction,  but  it  is  inferior  to  the  greater  epfc,  partly  in  conse- 
quence of  his  adoption  of  the  same  metre  which  he  used  in  the  Shah 
Namah,  and  which  was  well  adapted  to  that  martial  poem,  but  not  at  all 
appropriate  for  the  expression  of  the  gentle  strains  of  a  love  song, 
i  Kaiumers  is  represented  as  the  grandson  of  Noah. 


226  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

quest  of  that  empire,1  an  estimated  period  of  more 
than  three  thousand  six  hundred  years.  But  this  bold 
lyric  can  lay  but  little  more  claim  to  historic  accuracy 
than  can  the  Hindu  epics  whose  gorgeous  colorings 
mock  the  very  name  of  history.  The  Shah  Niimah, 
like  the  other  Oriental  poems,  abounds  in  adventures 
of  the  wildest  description,  in  fabulous  feats  of  strength 
and  valor,  and  the  heroines  of  the  Persian  bard  are  as 
intrepid  and  beautiful  as  the  maidens  who  conquered 
the  heroes  of  Western  poetry. 

The  legends  of  all  nations  are  rich  with  terrible 
dragons,  which  are  vanquished  by  unconquerable 
knights.  Even  England  has  her  St.  George,  and  other 
countries  boast  of  cavaliers  who  were  equally  valiant. 

The  hero  of  the  Shah  Namah  is  Rustem,  the 
Persian  Hercules,  and  the  strong  similarity  between 
the  myths  pertaining  to  them  is  another  argument  in 
favor  of  the  common  origin  of  various  mythologies.2 
The  labors  of  Rustem,  however,  were  only  seven, 
while  those  of  Hercules  were  twelve.  In  the  Shah 
Namah,  Isfendiyar  has  his  seven  labors  as  well  as 
Rustem,  and  both  succeeded  in  the  overthrow  of  de- 
vouring monsters,  and  the  destruction  of  talismans  and 
works  of  enchantment.  Isfendiyar  is  always  accompa- 
nied, however,  by  a  troop  of  horsemen,  while  Rustem 
performs  his  exploits  alone,  being  mounted  upon  his 
magnificent  horse  Rakush.  This  splendid  animal  will 
often  remind  the  reader  of  the  horses  of  Indra,  the 
Hindu  "  Lord  of  the  Thunderbolt,"  or  Jove  with  his 
"steeds  of  light," 
"Adorned  with  manes  of  gold,  and  heavenly  bright." 

i  About  A.  D.  636.  2  See  Hindu  Literature,  Chapters  II  and  III. 


PERSIAN   POETRY.  227 

Indeed,  the  boldest  heroes  of  all  people  rode  to  bat- 
tle upon  gallant  chargers  like  those  of  Rhesus,  which 
were  "swift  as  the  wind,  and  white  as  winter  snow." 
The  splendid  picture  of  the  Northern  god  would 
have  lost  its  force  without  the  presence  of  the  fleet- 
footed  Sleipnir,  and  Neptune  were  scarcely  the  king 
of  ocean  without  his  celestial  steeds, 

''Fed  with  ambrosial  herbage  from  his   hand, 
And  their  fetlocks  linked  with  golden  band." 

Achilles,  too,  drew  the  reins  over 

"Xanthus  and  Balius,  of  immortal  breed, 
Sprung  from  the   wind,   and    like    the  wind  in 
speed. 

From  their  high  manes  they  shake  the  dust,  and 

bear 
The  kindling  chariot  through  the  parted  war." 

Buddha  is  represented,  too,  as  deserting  his  wife 
and  child,  riding  upon  his  coal-black  steed,  Kanthaka, 
which  was  said  to  be  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  able 
to  clear  the  high  gates  of  the  palace,  or  the  broad 
rivers  that  flowed  across  his  pathway,  at  a  single 
bound. 

The  Persian  poem,  like  the  colossal  epics  of  India, 
is  of  such  interminable  length  that  the  readers  of 
modern  times  would  not  be  willing  to  scan  the  many 
pages  of  endless  description  and  hyperbole.  We  there- 
fore give,  in  simple  phrase,  the  best  incidents  of  this 
heroic  legend. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
STORY  OF  THE  SHAH  NAMAH. 

SAM  SUWAR — THE  SlMURGH's  NEST  —  THE  FATHER'S 
DREAM  —  RUDABEH  — THE  MARRIAGE — RUSTEM — THE 
TURANIAN  INVASION — THE  WHITE  DEMON. 

IN  the  golden  age  of  Persian  chivalry  there  lived  a 
famous  warrior  by  the  name  of  Sam  Suwar.  He 
was  the  son  of  the  great  chieftain  Nariman,  and  he 
was  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Persian  armies,  and 
not  only  a  valiant  hero  upon  the  battlefield,  but  more 
than  once  he  had  warred  against  the  allied  hosts  of 
demons,  and  come  off  victorious.  He  had  conquered 
the  furious  monster  Soham,  which  was  of  the  color 
and  nature  of  fire,  and,  bringing  it  beneath  the  obe- 
dient rein,  he  made  it  his  war  horse  in  all  his  later 
battles  with  the  demons. 

Suwar  had  an  heir  born  to  him,  and  knowing  that 
a  son  would  inherit  his  own  power  and  fume,  his 
heart  was  filled  with  exultation.  But  when  the  child 
was  placed  in  his  arms,  this  dark-haired  Persian  war- 
rior was  appalled,  for  the  babe,  otherwise  perfect,  had 
a  head  of  silvery  white  hair. 

"  His  hair  was  white  as  a  goose's  wing, 
His  cheek  was  like  the  rose  of  spring, 
His  form  was  straight  as  a  cypress  tree, 
But  when  the  sire  was  brought  to  see 


STORY   OF  THE   SHAH    NAMAH.  229 

That  child  with  hair  so  silvery  white, 
His  heart  revolted  at  the  sight."1 

The  gentle  mother  gave  the  child  the  name  of 
Zal,  but  the  superstitious  people  began  to  whisper 
that  this  white-haired  child  was  an  evil  omen  to  the 
house  of  Suwar.  Surely  it  could  bring  only  calamity 
into  the  family.  It  must  be  that  in  some  way  the 
child  belonged  to  the  demon  race,  or, 

"  If  not  a  demon,  he,  at  least, 
Appears  a  parti-colored  oeast." 

The  father  bore  the  sneers  and  reproaches  of  the 
people  for  a  time,  and  then  resolved  to  abandon  the 
boy  upon  the  mountain  crags  to  be  destroyed  by 
beasts  of  prey.  In  vain  the  faithful  mother  pleaded 
to  be  allowed  to  retain  her  babe  ;  in  vain  she  promised 
to  keep  him  in  seclusion  so  sacred  that  the  sight  of 
him  should  never  again  offend  the  father's  eye;  her 
child  was  torn  from  her  arms,  and  carried  to  a  distant 
mountain  in  the  depths  of  the  night,  and  there  de- 
serted by  the  cruel  and  superstitious  father. 

THE  SIMURGH'S  NEST. 

An  inaccessible  cliff  of  the  Alborz  mountains  is  said 
to  be  the  home  of  the  Simurgh,2  a  mammoth  bird  with 
golden  plumage,  who  carries  elephants  to  her  nest  for 
her  birdlings  to  feed  upon.  Far  beyond  the  reach  of 
man,  this  wondrous  nest  is  hidden  amidst  the  white 
cliffs,  which  are  threaded  thickly  with  veins  of  gold- 
en quartz,  while  around  the  base  of  the  structure 

i  Unless  otherwise  indicated,  the  poetical  quotations  in  this  legend  will  be 
from  Atkinson's  Translation. 
->  The  Anka  of  the  Arabians. 


230  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

there  gleam  the  stones  of  fire  —  the  amethyst,  the 
topaz  and  ruby,  and  in  the  rocks  not  far  away  the 
sunset  fires  have  left  their  glow  in  the  heart  of  the 
opal.  The  bird  of  golden  plumage  loves  these  pre- 
cious stones,  for  they  flash  back  the  fire  of  her  eye, 
and  seem  to  warm  her  heart  with  their  gleaming 
beauty.  The  night  was  dark,  for  even  the  stars  were 
hidden  behind  the  floating  clouds  that  told  of  a  com- 
ing storm,  then 

"  A  voice  not  earthly   thus  addressed 
The   Simurgh  in   her  mountain  nest — 
To  thee   this   mortal   I   resign, 
Protected  by  the  power  divine. 
Let  him  thy  fostering  kindness  share, 
Nourish  him  with  maternal  care ; 
For,  from  his  loins  in  time  will  spring 
The   champion  of  the   world,  and  bring 
Honor  on  earth,   and   make   thy  name 
The  heir  of  everlasting  fame." 

The  bird  listened  to  the  voice,  and  peering  down 
between  the  mountain  crags  and  rocky  cliffs,  she  saw 
a  man  with  coward  heart  leaving  a  tender  babe  upon 
one  of  the  foot-hills.  Her  mother-heart  beat  faster 
while  she  waited  a  moment  listening  to  the  coming 
storm,  and  then  the  strong  wings  moved  upward 
through  the  darkness,  and  circling  round  in  stately 
flight,  she  swept  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  desolate 
babe.  Down  she  came  at  last,  and  the  little  one 
looked  up  with  wondering  eyes  upon  the  great  mass  of 
plumage  that  seemed  to  have  been  borne  to  him  upon 
the  wings  of  the  coming  storm,  and  the  boy  smiled 


STORY   OF  THE   SHAH    NAMAH.  231 

and  reached  out  his  baby  hands  toward  his  new-found 
friend.  The  tender  mother-bird  fastened  her  talons 
carefully  in  his  little  dress,  and  floated  away  past 
mountain  stream  and  rocky  crags,  beyond  the  foot- 
hills and  the  higher  peaks,  until  she  reached  the  won- 
drous nest  hidden  amidst  the  stones  of  fire.  A  sweet, 
familiar  note  caused  the  nestlings  to  cling  more  closely 
together,  and  here,  in  the  newly  made  space,  the  ban- 
ished child  was  laid,  and  his  shelter  from  the  cruel 
storm  that  night  was  the  golden  feathers  of  the 
Simurgh. 

When  the  sunlight  touched  the  white  cliffs  and 
lighted  up  the  lires  in  ruby  and  opal,  the  great  bird 
was  awakened  by  a  strange  cry  beneath  her  wing,  and 
she  remembered  the  human  nestling  within  her  habita- 
tion. Then,  like  the  sacred  bird  of  Jove,  she  rises 
from  her  nest,  and 

"  Wide  as  appears  some  palace  gate  displayed, 
So  broad  the  pinions  stretched  their  ample  shade, 
As   stooping  dexter  with  resounding  wings, 
The  imperial  bird  descends  in  airy  rings.  "l 

Not  as  a  guide  to  the  tent  of  Achilles  does  the 
Simurgh  wheel  her  lofty  flight,  but  to  find  food  for 
the  helpless  babe  within  her  walls.  With  dainty  bits 
within  her  bill  she  comes  again  to  her  mountain 
home,  and  the  stranger  babe  is  fed  before  her  own 
young  have  broken  their  fast.  The  Simurgh's  nest- 
lings learned  from  the  mother-bird  the  lessons  of 
mercy  and  love,  and  soon  on  tender  wing  they  too 
brought  dainties  to  the  banished  child,  and  year  after 

i  Iliad.  B.  24. 


232  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

year  he  lived  in  the  Simurgh's  home,  or  played  amidst 
the  rough  jewels  in  the  crags  around  her  nest. 

THE  FATHER'S  DREAM. 

The  years  went  by  with  muffled  feet,  bringing  no 
balm  to  the  heart  of  the  bereaved  mother.  The  cruel 
way  in  which  her  child  had  been  torn  from  her  arms 
by  the  unnatural  father,  to  suffer  a  still  more  cruel 
fate,  had  left  a  wound  in  her  heart  that  her  husband's 
later  kindness  had  no  power  to  heal.  The  father,  too, 
was  ashamed  of  his  own  brutality,  but  too  cowardly  to 
confess  his  fault,  no  word  of  repentance  had  ever 
passed  his  lips.  The  only  sign  of  remorse  was  seen 
upon  his  head,  for  the  dark  locks  of  the  Persian  chief- 
tain had  grown  as  silvery  white  as  the  hair  of  the 
banished  child.  His  sleep  was  disturbed,  and  he  was 
haunted  night  after  night  by  strange  and  troubled 
dreams.  One  night  there  flashed  before  his  vision  a 
gallant  youth  of  martial  bearing,  who  rode  at  the  head 
of  a  troop  of  horsemen,  with  banners  flying  before 
him,  and  coming  into  the  warrior's  presence,  he  cried : 

"  Unfeeling  mortal,  hast  thou  from  thine  eyes 
Washed  out  all  sense  of  shame  ?    Dost  thou  believe 
That  to  have  silvery  tresses  is  a  crime  ? 
See  thine  own  head  is  covered  with  white  hair, 
And  were  not  both  spontaneous  gifts  from  heaven?" 

Suwar  awoke  with  a  scream  and  called  the  astrol- 
ogers around  him.  They  declared  that  the  boy  was 
still  alive,  and  in  the  early  morning  the  father  went 
to  the  lonely  mountain,  and  climbing  into  its  cliffs  as 
far  as  possible,  he  bemoaned  his  child  and  prayed 


STORY    OF   THE    SHAH   NAMAH.  233 

for  his  return.  His  cry  went  up  to  the  wondrous  nest 
amidst  the  stones  of  fire,  and  the  Simurgh  shook  her 
golden  plumage  as  she  looked  lovingly  down  upon  the 
white-haired  child  that  played  with  unpolished  gems 
upon  the  cliffs  beneath  her. 

Rising  from  her  nest,  she  nestled  down  beside  him, 
and  while  he  stroked  her  feathers,  she  caressed  him 
with  her  beak,  and  said :  "I  have  fed  and  protected 
thee,  but  now  the  Persian  warrior  has  come  for  his 
boy,  and  I  must  give  thee  up."  The  child  wept  and 
flung  his  arms  around  the  soft  neck  of  his  foster 
mother,  but  the  Simurgh  told  him  it  were  better  so, 
and  taking  from  her  wing  one  golden  plume,  she 
gave  it  to  him  with  the  promise  that  she  would  not 
desert  him.  "  Take  this/'  said  she,  "  and  when  thou 
art  in  danger  put  the  feather  upon  the  fire,  and  I 
will  instantly  come  to  thine  aid." 

Then  the  Simurgh  took  the  boy  carefully  in  her 
talons  and  in  graceful  circles  she  slowly  swept  down 
toward  the  wondering  father.  "Keceive  thy  son,"  said 
the  wondrous  bird.  "He  is  worthy  of  a  throne  and 
diadem."  Then  the  repentant  father  gladly  caught  his 
rescued  boy  in  his  arms,  and  bore  him  exultingly 
homeward,  where  he  placed  him  in  the  glad  arms  of 
his  mother,  who  wept  tears  of  joy  over  the  white- 
haired  child.  The  beautiful  plume  was  laid  carefully 
away  as  one  of  the  treasures  of  the  household,  to  be 
used  by  the  boy  only  in  times  of  greatest  need. 

When  the  Persian  king  Minuchir  heard  the  story, 
he  sent  to  Suwar  a  splendid  troop  of  horsemen,  led 
by  the  heir  to  the  throne,  and  they  conveyed  the 


234  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

royal  congratulations   to  the  warrior  and  his  son,   and 
escorted  them  into  the  royal  presence.     Here 

"Zal  humbly  kissed  the  earth  before  the  king, 
And  from  the  hands  of  Minuchir  received 
A  golden  mace  and  helmet.     Then  those  who  knew 
The  stars  and  planetary  signs  were   told 
To  calculate  the  stripling's  destiny; 
And   all  proclaimed   him  of  exalted  fortune, 
That  he  would  be  prodigious  in  his  might, 
Outshining  every  warrior  of   the  age." 

The  delighted  king  then  presented  the  boy  with 
Arabian  horses  and  gorgeous  armor,  witli  gold  and  rich 
garments,  and  appointed  the  father  to  be  the  ruler  of 
Kabul,  Zabul,  and  Ind.  Ziil  accompanied  his  father 
upon  the  return  homeward,  and '  then  he  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  renowned  instructors  at  Zabulistan. 

RUDABEH. 

While  the  Persian  youth  was  reaching  the  age  of 
manhood,  in  the  delightful  pursuits  of  art  and  science, 
he  was  also  occasionally  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the 
province  during  the  father's  absence.  Kabul,  one  of 
the  provinces  which  the  Persian  king  had  assigned  to 
Suwar,  had  been  ruled  over  by  a  chieftain  named 
Mihriib,  who  was  descended  from  Zohak,  and  this 
chieftain  still  retained  a  subordinate  position  in  the 
government  by  paying  an  annual  tribute  to  Suwar. 

Mihrab  had  a  beautiful  daughter  named  Kiidabeh, 
and  although  she  was  kept  in  the  most  careful  seclu- 
sion, still  the  fame  of  her  great  loveliness  was  spread 
among  the  neighboring  princes. 


STORY  OF  THE  SHAH   NAMAH.  235 

"If  thou  wouldst  make   her  charms  appear, 
Think  of  the  sun  so  bright  and  clear, 
And  brighter  far  with  softer  light, 
The  maiden   strikes  the  dazzled  sight. 
Think  of  her  skin,   with   what  compare  ? 
Ivory  was  never  half  so  fair ! 
Her  stature  like  the  sabin  tree, 
Her  eyes !   so  full  of  witchery, 
Glow  like  the  Nigris1  tenderly, 
Her  arching  brows  their  magic  fling, 
Dark  as  the  raven's  glossy  wing. 
Soft  o'er  her  blooming  cheek  is  spread 
The  rich  pomegranate's  vivid  red ; 
Her  musky  ringlets  imconfined 
In  clustering  meshes   roll  behind. 
Possessed  of  every  sportive  wile, 
'Tis   heaven,    'tis  bliss,  to  see   her  smile." 

Zal  was  not  insensible  to  the  charms  he  had  heard 
so  vividly  described,  but  he  remembered  that  Mihrab 
was  descended  from  Zohak,  the  Serpent  King,2  and  he 
knew  that  if  he  made  any  advances  toward  the  fair 
daughter  of  the  fatal  line  he  should  provoke  the  rage 

1  The  Narcissus,  to  which  the  beautiful  eyes  of  Eastern  women  are  often 
compared. 

2  Called  the  "  Serpent  King  "  because  he  at  one  time  allowed  an  evil  crea- 
ture to  kiss  his  shoulder,  and  from  the  spot  two  fearful  serpents  sprang  that 
required  human  brains  for  their  food.    The  king  used  to  select  the  victims 
by  lot.  and  when  the  blacksmith  Kaveh  found  his  name  upon  the  fatal  reg- 
ister he  tore  the  document  in  pieces,  and 

"  On  his  javelin's  point 
He  fixed  his  leathern  apron  for  a  banner, 
And  lifting  it  high  he  went  abroad 
To  call  the  people  to  a  task  of  vengeance." 

The  multitude  of  rebels  joined  a  foreign  foe,  and  the  hated  Zohak  was 
destroyed,  and  then  the  leathern  banner  was  splendidly  adorned  with  gold 
and  jewels,  and  it  is  said  that  this  legend  gave  rise  to  the  blacksmith's 
apron  as  the  royal  ensign  of  Persia. 


236  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

of  his  father,  and  also  of  the  Persian  monarch  Minu- 
chir. 

Mihrab  had  occasion  to  communicate  with  Zal,  and 
on  his  return  homeward  his  wife,  Sindokht,  inquired 
after  the  white-haired  youth,  asking  what  he  was  like 
in  form  and  feature,  and  what  account  he  gave  of 
his  stay  with  the  Simurgh. 

Mihrab  described  his  host  in  the  warmest  terms  of 
admiration,  telling  of  his  valor,  his  accomplishments, 
and  his  manly  beauty,  his  only  defect  being  the 
strange  crown  of  silvery  hair. 

The  beautiful  princess  was  present,  and,  with  her 
dark  eyes  fixed  upon  her  father's  face,  she  drank  in 
every  word  of  his  eulogy,  and  her  heart  warmed 
toward  the  stranger.  When  she  retired  to  her  own 
apartments,  she  confided  to  her  maid  the  fact  that 
she  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  description  she  had 
heard,  and  a  few  days  later  she  declared  to  the  at- 
tendant that  she  was  deeply  in  love  with  the  stranger, 
and  besought  the  maid's  assistance. 

The  servant  was  startled  and  frightened  by  this  con- 
fession, and  remonstrated  with  her  beautiful  mistress 
upon  the  absurdity  of  her  position: 

"What,   hast  thou   lost   all  sense  of  shame, 
All  value  for  thy  honored   name  ! 
That  thou  in  loveliness  supreme, 
Of  every  tongue  the  constant  theme, 
Should  choose,   and  on   another's  word, 
The  nursling  of  a  mountain  bird  ! 
A  being  never  seen  before, 
Which  human  mother  never  bore  ! 


STORY    OF  THE   SHAH    NAMAH.  237 

And  can  the  hoary  locks  of  age 

A  youthful  heart  like  thine  engage?" 

But  her  remonstrance  was  in  vain,  the  willful  Per- 
sian beauty  had  set  her  heart  upon  a  man  whom 
she  had  never  seen,1  and  she  quietly  answered: 

"My  attachment   is  fixed,    my  election   is   made, 
And  when  hearts  are  enchained  'tis  vain  to  upbraid. 
Neither  Kizar  nor  Faghfur  I  wish  to  behold, 
Nor  the  monarch  of  Persia  with  jewels  and  gold; 
All,  all  I  despise,  save  the  choice  of  my  heart, 
And  from  his  beloved  image  I  never  can  part." 

When  the  attendants  learned  that  the  princess 
was  so  deeply  in  earnest  they  loyally  entered  into 
her  feelings  far  enough  to  aid  her  in  every  possible 
way  in  bringing  about  a  meeting  with  the  man  she 
loved. 

It  was  springtime  in  the  beautiful  vales  of  Persia, 
and  the  earth  was  rich  with  many  colored  flowers, 

i  It  appears  to  have  been  not  unusual  amongst  the  secluded  women  of 
the  East  to  fall  deeply  in  love  with  men  of  whom  they  knew  very  little. 
Josephus  claims  that  the  king's  daughter  betrayed  the  city  of  Sava  in 
Ethiopia  into  the  hands  of  Moses,  having  fallen  in  love  with  his  valor 
and  bravery  as  she  saw  him  from  the  walls  of  the  city  gallantly  leading  the 
Egyptian  host.  Dido  was  won  merely  by  the  fame  of  ^Eneas,  and  Kotzebue 
has  pictured  Elvira  as  enamored  of  the  glory  of  Pizarro;  but  when  at  last 
she  discovered  the  savage  and  merciless  disposition  of  the  conqueror, 
she  taunted  him  with  being  a  fraud.  The  lovely  Desdemona  affords  another 
instance : 

OTH.— "  Her  father  loved  me;  oft  invited  me; 

Still  questioned  me  the  story  of  my  life. 

"  I  ran  it  through,  even  from  my  boyish  days, 
Wherein  I  spoke  of  most  disastrous  chances. 

"She  loved  me  for  the  dangers  I  had  passed, 
And  I  loved  her  that  she  did  pity  them." 

(Othello,  Act.  I,  Sc.  3) 


238  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

while  the  breath  of  hyacinths  and  lilies  of  the  valley 
floated  upon  the  air.  The  glittering  pheasant  moved 
through  the  undergrowth,  and  the  bulbul  sang  his  love 
song  in  the  lofty  trees. 

A  party  of  maidens  strayed  near  the  tent  of  Zal  in 
their  earnest  quest  for  the  most  beautiful  roses  to  be 
found  in  that  sunny  vale.  Already  their  baskets  were 
laden  with  fragrance,  but  still  they  lingered,  until  the 
prince  asked  his  attendants  why  these  girls  presumed 
to  invade  his  territory.  He  was  told  that  the  dam- 
sels were  sent  by  the  beautiful  princess  of  Kabulistan 
from  the  palace  of  Mihrab  to  gather  roses  for  her 
boudoir.  His  eyes  brightened,  and  calling  a  servant 
to  bear  his  bow  and  arrows,  he  rose  carelessly  and  started 
for  a  ramble  along  the  winding  river.  He  was  not  far 
from  the  maidens,  when  he  sent  an  arrow  through  a 
beautiful  bird  sailing  above  them.  The  bird  fell  at 
their  very  feet,  and  his  servant  was  sent  to  bring  it. 

When  he  approached  them  they  inquired  who  this 
skillful  archer  was.  He  answered,  "  Know  you  not 
that  this  is  Zal,  the  greatest  warrior  ever  known." 
The  maidens  then  told  him  that  they  belonged  to  a 
beautiful  princess,  the  star  in  the  palace  at  Mihrab,  and 
cautiously  inquired  why,  as  these  young  people  were  of 
equal  rank,  a  marriage  might  not  be  arranged  between 
them.  The  servant  reported  the  question  to  his 
master,  and  was  sent  back  with  royal  presents  for 
Rudabeh. 

"  They  who  to  gather  roses  came — went  back 
With  precious  gems  and  honorary  robes, 
And  two  bright  finger-rings  were  secretly 
Sent  to  the  princess." 


STORY    OF   THE   SHAH    NAMAH.  239 

The  maids  returned  exultant,  but  still  the  way  was 
full  of  peril,  and  political  difficulties  seemed  to  forbid 
even  an  interview  between  the  lovers.  There  was, 
however,  a  beautiful  summer  retreat  seldom  visited  in 
the  absence  of  the  Persian  king,  which  was  luxuriously 
furnished  and  adorned  with  paintings  of  Persia's  most 
illustrious  chieftains.  It  stood  midway  between  the 
two  territories,  and  to  this  resort  the  princess  and  her 
maids  retired  while  on  a  pleasure  excursion,  and  Zal 
was  duly  invited  by  the  attendants  to  visit  them  as 
soon  as  the  stars  came  out. 

The  shadows  of  evening  had  fallen  upon  the  rose 
gardens,  and  the  air  was  heavy  with  their  fragrance, 
when  the  young  warrior  cautiously  approached  the  bal- 
cony from  which  he  heard  a  sweet  voice  singing.  Soon 
the  low  musical  tones  of  a  manly  voice  were  borne 
upon  the  breeze  as  he  softly  chanted — 

"  How  often  have  I  hoped  that  heaven 
Would  in  some  secret  place  display 
Thy  charms  to  me,  and  thou  hast  given 
My  heart  the  wish  of  many  a  day.  " 

And  soon  the  singer  stood  by  the  woman  he  sought. 
They  passed  hand  in  hand  within  the  gorgeous  cham- 
bers, where  the  porphyry  pillars  upheld  the  rich  fret- 
work of  gold  iu  the  roof,  and  the  vast  illuminated 
halls  were  silent  and  bright,  save  the  gentle  music  of 
the  waters  that  were  rippling  from  many  a  jasper 
fountain.  The  royal  abode  was  glowing  with  softly 
colored  lights,  which  reflected  the  rare  beauty  of  paint- 
ing and  statuary,  but  Zal  could  scarcely  see  what 
art  had  done,  for  his  eyes  and  thoughts  were 


240  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

absorbed  with  the  witching  radiance  of  his  love. 
Long  they  remained  rapt  in  admiration  of  each 
other.  At  length  the  warrior  rose  and  exclaimed : 
"It  becomes  us  not  to  be  forgetful  of  the  path  of 
prudence.  How  will  my  father  rave  with  anger  when 
he  hears  of  this  adventure  ?  How  will  King  Min- 
uchir  indignantly  reproach  me  for  this  dream  ? — 
this  waking  dream  of  rapture  !  But  I  call  high  heaven 
to  witness  that  whoever  may  oppose  my  sacred  vows, 
still  I  am  thine,  affianced  thine,  forever.  "  And  Rud- 
abeh  answered,  '•'  Thou  liast  won  my  heart,  and  kings 
may  sue  in  vain  ;  thou  art  alone  my  warrior  and  my 
love. "  Then  Zal,  with  fond  adieus,  softly  descended 
from  the  balcony  and  hastened  to  his  tent. 

The  loyal  son  wrote  a  letter  to  his  father,  frankly  tell- 
ing him  the  story  of  his  love,  and  asking  his  sympathy 
and  co-operation.  To  his  great  joy,  these  were  promptly 
accorded,  and  he  wrote  an  exultant  letter  to  the  princess, 
informing  her  of  the  fact.  But  the  girl  was  detected  by 
the  queen  in  carrying  messages  and  presents  to  the 
princess,  and  the  queen  approached  her  daughter,  who 
frankly  told  the  story,  and  it  was  thus  communicated 
to  Mihrab,  whose  rage  knew  no  bounds.  The  infuriated 
king  drew  his  sword,  and  would  have  rushed  to  his 
daughter's  room  and  slain  her  upon  the  spot,  if  his 
wife  had  not  thrown  herself  at  his  feet  and  pleaded  that 
time  at  least  might  be  given  her. 

The  daughter  was  then  summoned  to  her  father's 
presence,  but  she  disdained  to  come  as  a  culprit  or 
a  suppliant,  therefore  she  fearlessly  appeared  in  the 
royal  presence,  and  proudly  told  him  of  the  valor  of 
her  betrothed.  She  retired  from  his  presence  without 


STORY   OF  THE   SHAH   NAMAH.  241 

harm,  but  when  Minuchir,  king  of  Persia,  was  ap- 
prised of  the  loves  of  Ziil  and  Rudabeh,  another  storm 
broke  over  the  heads  of  the  royal  lovers,  for  he  an- 
ticipated only  the  ruin  of  his  kingdom  if  so  valiant 
a  warrior  as  Zfil  joined  his  fortunes  with  a  member 
of  the  house  of  the  Serpent  King. 

When  Suwar  returned,  however,  from  his  successfu" 
expedition  against  the  demons,  he  ingeniously  pleaded 
his  son's  cause  before  the  king : 

"I  am  thy  servant,  and  twice  sixty  years 
Have  seen  my  prowess.     Mounted  on  my  steed, 
Wielding  my  battle-ax,  overthrowing  heroes, 
Who  equals  Suwar  the  warrior  ?    I  destroyed 
The  mighty  monster1  whose  devouring  jaws 
Unpeopled  half  the  land,  and  spread  dismay 
From  town  to  town.     The  world  was  full  of   horror ; 
No  bird  was  seen  in  air,  no  beast  of  prey 
In  plain  or  forest :  from  the  stream  he  drew 
The  crocodile  :   the  eagle  from  the  sky. 
Armed  for  the  strife,  I  saw  him  towering  rise 
Huge  as  a  mountain,  with  his  hideous  hair 
Dragging  upon  the  ground  :   his  long  black  tongue 
Shut  up  the  path;  his  eyes  two  lakes  of  blood. 
Forward  I  sprang,  and  in  a  moment  drove 
A  diamond-pointed  arrow  through  his  tongue, 
Fixing  him  to  the  ground.     Another  went 
Down  his  deep  throat,  and  dreadfully  he  writhed 
And  deluged  all  around  with  blood  and  poison. 
There  lay  the  monster  dead,  and  soon  the  world 
Regained  its  peace  and  comfort.     Now  I'm  old, 

i  This  picture  is  highly  suggestive  of  the  Demon  King  of  Ceylon,  who  is 
so  prominent  in  Hindu  mythology,  especially  in  the  Ramayawa. 


242  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

The  vigor  of  my  youth  is  past  and  gone, 

And  it  becomes  me  to  resign  my  station 

To  Zal,  my  gallant  son." 

But  while  approving  cordially  of  the  work  already 
done,  he  gave  the  warrior  a  new  commission,  which 
was  no  less  than  the  destruction  of  Kabul  by  fire  and 
sword,  especially  the  house  of  Mihrab,  and  declared  that 
the  ruler  of  the  serpent-race  and  all  of  his  adherents 
were  to  be  put  to  death.  In  vain  the  horror-stricken 
warrior  pleaded  the  cause  of  mercy,  the  king's  vindic- 
tive intentions  were  well  known,  and  the  greatest  con- 
sternation reigned  at  Kabul,  especially  in  the  family  of 
Mihrab. 

Mihrab  himself  a  tyrant,  and  consequently  a  coward, 
could  see  no  way  of  avoiding  the  king's  wrath  except 
by  putting  his  wife  and  daughter  to  death. 

At  last  in  his  desperation,  Suwar  sent  an  earnest 
letter  to  the  king,  and  sent  it  by  the  hand  of  Zal, 
who  thus  obtained  permission  to  plead  his  own  cause. 
The  king  finally  consulted  the  astrologers,  who  in- 
formed him  that  the  marriage  was  most  propitious, 
and  from  it  would  be  born  a  hero  of  matchless 
strength  and  valor — the  champion  of  Persia.  So  at 
last  the  faithful  lover  bore  back  to  Rudabeh  the  joy- 
ous tidings  that  the  greatest  obstacle  was  removed, 
after  which  it  was  an  easy  matter  to  pacify  Mihrab, 
and  the  approbation  of  all  parties  was  finally  secured. 

THE   MARRIAGE. 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  at  the  beautiful  royal 
retreat  where  the  lovers  first  met,  and  it  was  a  scene 
of  unequaled  magnificence.  There  were  splendid  horses 


STORY   OF  THE  SHAH   XAMAH.  243 

with  gold  and  silver  housings,  and  multitudes  of  richly 
attired  damsels  bearing  golden  trays  of  jewels  and  per- 
fumes. There  were  camels  laden  with  the  richest  bro- 
cades and  velvets  of  the  East  ;  there  were  Indian  swords 
and  elephants  ;  there  were  bowers  of  roses  and  orange 
blossoms,  and  garlands  of  fragrant  lilies,  and  finally 
there  was  a  golden  crown  and  throne.  Having  consented 
to  the  union,  the  Persian  king  taxed  the  treasury  to 
the  utmost  to  make  it  the  grandest  wedding  in  the 
land. 

After  several  days  had  been  devoted  to  the  festivi- 
ties, the  newly  married  pair  settled  down  amid  the 
roses  and  fruits  of  their  vine-wreathed  home.  From 
the  white  crown  of  a  distant  mountain  down  to  the 
river  that  flowed  by  their  garden  temples,  the  very  air 
seemed  tinted  with  a  golden  haze,  while  every  breeze  was 
laden  with  rich  perfume. 

The  time  passed  blithely  and  rapidly  to  the  young 
chieftain  and  his  beautiful  wife  ;  but  one  night  there 
was  darkness  in  the  garden  temples,  and  gloom  in  the 
thickets  of  roses  where  the  night-bird  trilled  his  sor- 
rowful song  to  the  drooping  flowers.  There  was  dark- 
ness upon  the  inner  room,  for  the  shadow  of  death 
was  falling  upon  court  and  hall — the  fair  young  wife 
lay  in  terrible  peril,  from  which  there  seemed  to  be  no 
rescue.  The  court  physicians  held  council  in  the  ad- 
joining room,  while  the  agonized  husband  bent  over 
his  suffering  wife. 

At  last  he  bethought  him  of  the  Simurgh's  plume, 
and,  hastily  unlocking  the  casket,  the  golden  feather 
was  laid  upon  the  fire.  His  heart  stood  still  while  he 
waited  and  listened,  and  lo,  there  came  the  rushing 


244  PERSIAN    LITERATI/RE. 

sound  of  a  tempest,  as  the  wing  of  the  Simurgh  gleamed 
through  the  darkness,  and  she  stood  beside  her  foster 
child.  Zal's  eyes  lighted  up  with  hope  and  gladness 
as  he  threw  his  arms  around  her  soft  golden  neck,  and 
leaned  upon  the  gorgeous  plumage.  Then  she  bent 
her  head  caressingly  toward  his  face  and  whispered  a 
few  directions  into  his  ear.  Immediately  her  command 
was  obeyed  and  the  court  physicians  were  interrupted 
in  their  solemn  conclave,  for  the  cry  of  a  newly-born 
babe  was  wafted  to  their  ears,  and  the  young  wife 
was  shedding  happy  tears  in  the  arms  of  her  joyous 
husband. 

RUSTEM. 

The  boy  who  was  born  that  night  was  a  herculean 
babe,  and  he  became  the  champion  of  Persia.1  As 
the  years  went  by  his  marvelous  strength  became  the 
wonder  of  the  nation,  and  the  especial  pride  of  his 
father  and  the  old  chieftain  Suwar. 

"  In  beauty  of  form  and  vigor  of  limb, 
No  mortal  was  ever  equal  to  him." 

Before  Rustem  reached  the  age  of  manhood  the  king 
of  Persia  died,  and  the  kingdom  fell  into  the  hands 
of  weaker  princes.  The  Tartar  chieftain,  Afrasiyab, 

1  Firdusi  thought  proper  to  bestow  upon  his  hero  a  gigantic  stature  and 
marvelous  physical  powers,  but  other  classic  writers  have  done  the  same.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Hercules  had  but  completed  his  eighth  month  be- 
fore he  strangled  the  serpents  that  Juno  sent  to  devour  him,  and  Homer 
says  of  Otus  and  Ephialtes : 

"  The  wondrous  youths  had  scarce  nine  winters  told, 
When  high  in  air,  tremendous  to  behold. 
Nine  ells  aloft  they  reared  their  towering  heads, 
And  full  nine  cubits  broad  their  shoulders  spread. 
Proud  of  their  strength  and  more  than  mortal  size, 
The  gods  they  challenge  and  affect  the  skies." 

Odyssey  XI,  310. 


STORY   OF  THE  SHAH   NAMAH.  245 

improved   the  opportunity  which   he  long  had  sought, 
of  making  an  invasion  upon  the  rich  provinces  of  Persia, 
and  collecting  an   immense  army   he   marched   to   the 
front,  under  the  pretext  of  avenging  old  wrongs. 
"  Afrasiyab  a  mighty  army  raised, 
And  passing  plain  and  river,  mountain  high, 
And  desert  wild,  filled  all  the  Persian  realm 
With  consternation  and  universal  dread." 
The  Persian  hosts  were  in  confusion,  for  the  Tartar 
chief    was    continually    threatening    the   border.      The 
people    looked  to  Zal   as  their  natural   preserver,   but 
Zal  decided  to  place  his  boy  at  the  head  of  the  army, 
for  although   very  young,    Rustem  had  been  carefully 
trained  in  warlike  exercises,  and  the  long  line  of  war- 
rior blood  from    whence  he  came,   thrilled    his    veins 
with  martial  valor. 

All  the  horses  of  the  imperial  stables  were  brought 
forth,  that  the  young  commander  might  take  from 
them  a  steed  to  bear  him  through  the  campaign.  But 
Rustem  was  not  content  to  choose  from  these,  for  his 
eye  fell  upon  a  wild  horse  of  wondrous  strength  and 
beauty  which  was  the  offspring  of  a  demon.  After  a 
fearful  struggle  the  magnificent  animal  was  conquered, 
and  placed  beneath  saddle  and  rein,  when  the  young 
warrior  rode  into  the  conflict. 

THE    TURANIAN    INVASION. 

Mihrab,  the  ruler  of  Kabul,  was  the  leader  of  one 
wing  of  the  Persian  army,  and  Gustahem  of  the  other, 
while  Rustem  led  the  front,  and  the  glorious  banner 
of  Kavah '  was  flung  to  the  breeze.  The  Turanian 

i  The  blacksmith's  apron. 


240  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

king  rode  in  black  armor  at  the  head  of  his  dark  le- 
gions, while  his  ablest  generals  led  the  wings  and  pro- 
tected the  rear  of  his  vast  army. 

There  was  one  terrific  onslaught  in  which  it  seemed 
as  if  heaven  and  earth  had  closed  in  deadly  conflict. 
The  clattering  of  hoofs,  the  shrill  roar  of  the  trump- 
ets and  the  rattle  of  brazen  drums  were  mingled 
with  the  cries  of  dying  men,  while  the  glittering  spear 
hastened  to  the  deadly  work,  and  the  Tartar  king 
believed  that  the  imperial  crown  of  Persia  was  just 
within  his  reach. 

When  the  tide  of  battle  ebbed  for  a  moment,  Rus- 
tem  shouted  to  his  father  that  he  intended  to  engage 
the  hostile  monarch  in  single  combat,  but  Zal  endeav- 
ored to  dissuade  him  from  so  hopeless  a  task. 

"  My  son,  be  wise  and  peril  not  thyself; 
Black  is  his  banner,  and  his  cuirass  black — 
His  limbs  are  cased  in  iron — on  his  head 
He  wears  an  iron  helm — and  high  before  him 
Floats  the  black  ensign;  equal  in  his  might 
To  ten  strong   men.     .     .     . 
Then   beware  of  him. 

Rustem  replied:     'Be  not  alarmed  for   me — 
My  heart,  my  arm,  my  dagger,  are  my  castle.'" 

* 

He  bravely  urged  his  splendid  horse  toward  the 
foe,  and  the  warriors  closed  in  a  long  and  doubtful 
struggle.  At  last,  however,  Rustem  caught  him  by  the 
belt  and  dragged  him  from  his  horse.  He  intended  to 
drive  his  captive  thus  to  the  Persian  king,  but  the  belt 
gave  way  and  the  Tartar  fell  upon  the  ground,  and 
was  quickly  borne  off  by  his  own  warriors,  but  not 


STORY   OF  THE   SHAH   NAMAH.  247 

before  Rustem  had  snatched  off  the  monarch's  crown, 
which  he  carried  away  as  a  trophy  with  the  broken 
girdle. 

The  fight  now  became  general  again,  and  the  earth 
shook  with  the  trampling  of  the  steeds;  the  drums 
rattled;  loud  clamors  from  the  troops  echoed  around, 
and  by  the  mailed  hands  of  contending  warriors  many 
a  life  was  sacrificed.  With  his  huge  mace,  cow-headed, 
Rustem  flooded  the  ground  with  the  crimson  blood  of 
his  foes,  and  wherever  seen  he  was  impatiently  urging 
forward  his  fiery  horse.  Severed  heads  fell  like  the 
withered  leaves  in  autumn  when  he  brandished  his 
sword,  horseman  and  steed  falling  together.  On  that 
dreadful  day,  with  sword  and  dagger,  battle-ax  and 
noose,1  he  cut  and  tore,  and  broke  and  bound  the 
brave,  slaying  and  making  captive.  The  Tartar  hordes 
fled  in  dismay,  and  their  black  banner  trailed  upon 
the  earth  until  captured  by  the  Persian  troops. 

Day  after  day  the  conquered  legions  pursued  their 
noiseless  retreat,  for  neither  drum  nor  trumpet  told 
their  foes  which  way  they  took.  The  Persian  host, 
burdened  with  a  multitude  of  prisoners,  fell  slowly 
back  to  the  capital,  where  Rustem  was  received  with 
the  wildest  demonstrations  of  joy.  Soon  there  came 
from  Turan  a  messenger  bearing  proposals  of  peace. 
To  this  the  Persian  king  replied  that  the  war  had  not 
been  of  his  seeking,  but  he  would  accept  the  over- 
tures of  peace  upon  condition  that  Afrasiyab  take  his 
solemn  oath  never  to  cross  the  boundary  line  formed 
by  the  river  Jihun,  or  disturb  the  Persian  throne 

i  Herodotus  speaks  of  a  people  confederated  with  the  army  of  Xerxes 
who  employed  the  noose. 


248  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

again.  Peace  was  accordingly  concluded,  and  the  high- 
est honors  were  conferred  upon  Rustem  and  Zal.  Rus- 
tem  was  appointed  captain  general  of  the  armies,  un- 
der the  title  of  the  "champion  of  the  world."  He  was 
also  given  a  golden  crown,  and  the  privilege  was 
granted  him  of  giving  audience  while  seated  upon  a 
golden  throne. 

THE   WHITE   DEMON. 

After  many  years  a  new  king,  Kai-kaus,1  ascended 
the  Persian  throne.  Lacking  the  wisdom  of  his  father, 
he  sought  the  fascinations  of  the  wine  cup,  and  while 
under  this  influence  he  astonished  and  mortified  his 
people  by  his  intense  self-admiration  and  pride.  One 
day,  when  he  was  half -crazed  with  his  favorite  bever- 
age, a  demon,  disguised  as  a  musician,  waited  upon 
him  and  sang  a  song  extolling  the  beauties  of  Mazin- 
deran: 

"  And  thus  he  warbled  to  the  king, 
Mazinderan  is  the  bower  of  spring, 
My  native  home  ;  the  balmy  air 
Diffuses  health  and  fragrance  there. 
So  tempered  is  the  genial  glow 
Nor  heat,  nor  cold,  we  ever  know; 
Tulips  and  hyacinths  abound 
On  every  lawn;  and  all  around 
Blooms  like  a  garden  in  its  prime, 
Fostered  by  that  delicious  clime. 
The  bulbul  sits  on  every  spray, 
And  pours  his  soft  melodious  lay; 

i  Kai-kaus,  the  second  Persian  king  belonging  to  the  dynasty  of  Kain- 
anides. 


STORY   OF  THE  SHAH   NAMAH.  ^49 

Each  rural  spot  its  sweets  discloses, 
Each  streamlet  is  the  dew  of  roses. 
And  mark  me,  that  untraveled  man 
Who  never  saw  Mazinderan 
And  all  the  charms  its  powers  possess, 
Has  never  tasted  happiness/' 

No  sooner  had  the  king  heard  the  minstrel's  lay 
concerning  the  unknown  land  than  he  began  to  foster 
the  desire  for  conquest,  and  he  declared  to  his  warriors 
that  the  glory  of  his  reign  should  exceed  that  of  his 
most  illustrious  predecessors.  The  warriors,  more  cau- 
tious, protested  against  their  monorch's  insane  idea  of 
making  war  upon  the  demons,  and  Zal  was  chosen  as 
the  most  influential  of  their  number  to  bear  their  pro- 
tests to  the  king.  But  the  conceited  king  announced 
that  he  was  superior  in  might  and  influence  to  any  of 
his  predecessors — that  he  had  a  bolder  heart,  a  larger 
army,  and  a  fuller  treasury  than  any  of  them.  He 
haughtily  announced  that  he  needed  neither  Zal  nor 
Rustem,  that  they  might  stay  at  home  and  care  for  the 
kingdom,  while  he  himself  conducted  the  campaign  in 
person.  The  keys  of  the  treasury  and  the  jewel  cham- 
ber were  left  in  the  hands  of  Milad,  with  instructions 
to  act  under  the  advice  of  Zal  and  Rustem.  Then  the 
great  army  was  put  in  motion,  while  at  its  head  rode 
the  conceited  king,  with  his  magnificent  retinue  of 
richly  caparisoned  horses  and  camels. 

When  the  columns  came  near  to  Mazinderan,  the 
king  ordered  his  favorite  general,  Glw,  to  select  two 
thousand  of  his  bravest  men,  the  boldest  wielders  of 
the  battle-ax,  and  proceed  rapidly  toward  the  city.  In 
accordance  with  the  king's  command,  this  was  a  vandal 


250  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

march,  marked  by  fire,  sword,  and  the  pitiless  murder 
even  of  women  and  children. 

While  the  terrible  work  of  slaughter  and  destruc- 
tion was  going  on  under  the  hands  of  his  chosen  men, 
the  Persian  king  was  encamped  in  splendid  state  on  a 
plain  near  the  city,  indulging  in  the  wildest  dreams  of 
complete  victory,  and  intending  to  follow  his  advance 
guard  with  the  main  body  of  his  army  the  next  day. 

But  when  the  insulted  king  of  Muzinderfin  saw  this 
ruthless  invasion  of  his  beautiful  realm,  he  called  the 
White  Demon l  to  his  aid,  and  that  night  the  dark 
storm-clouds  rolled  over  the  Persian  host,  and  pitiless 
hailstones  fell  upon  the  panic-stricken  army.  The 
morning  light  found  the  troops  dismayed  and  scat- 
tered, while  many  of  them  were  killed  outright,  and 
the  conceited  king  with  his  leading  warriors  were 
smitten  with  blindness. 

There  were  selected  from  the  demon  army  twelve 
thousand  chosen  warriors  to  hold  in  custody  the  Ira- 
nian captives,  which  were  easily  taken,  together  with 
the  treasures  and  horses  of  Kai-kaus.  Arzang,  one  of 
the  demon  leaders,  having  taken  possession  of  the 
wealth,  the  crown,  and  jewels  of  the  audacious  invad- 
ers, escorted  the  captive  king  and  his  troops  to  Mazin- 
deran,  where  they  were  placed  in  the  custody  of  the 
guards. 

The  blind  king,  however,  succeeded  in  sending  in- 
formation concerning  his  condition  to  Zal,  and  that 

i  In  the  Shah  Namah,  where  so  much  fiction  is  founded  upon  so  little  his- 
toric fact,  we  find,  as  in  Hindu  literature,  an  active  race  of  demons.  These 
are  generally  defined  as  being  in  human  shape,  with  horns,  long  ears,  and 
sometimes  with  tails,  like  the  monkeys  in  the  Ramayana.  Again,  they  as- 
sume the  characteristics  of  the  Rakshasas  in  Hindu  mythology,  and  appear 
as  enchanters,  sorcerers,  etc.— (Compare  Hindu  Literature,  pp.  189-232.) 


STORY   OF  THE   SHAH-NAMAH.  251 

warrior,  though  furious  over  the  conduct  of  the  royal 
imbecile,  was  still  loyal  enough  to  attempt  his  rescue, 
and  turning  to  Rustem,  he  said,  "The  sword  must  be 
unsheathed  since  Kai-kaus  is  bound  a  captive  in  the 
dragon's  den.  Rakush  must  be  saddled  for  the  field, 
and  thou  must  bear  the  weight  of  this  campaign." 

Rustem  replied  that  it  was  a  long  journey  to  Ma- 
zinderan,  and  the  king  was  six  months  upon  the  road. 
But  Zal  replied  that  there  were  two  roads,  one  of  them 
being  very  short,  but  filled  with  dangers,  lions  and 
demons  haunting  the  pathway.  Still,  if  he  could  over- 
come these  foes,  he  might  reach  the  capital  city  of 
demon-land  in  seven  days. 

The  gallant  warrior  promptly  chose  the  shorter  road, 
saying: 

"It  is  not  wise,  they  say, 
With  willing  feet  to  track  the  way 
To  hell:  Though  only  men  who've  lost 
All  love  of  life  by  misery  crossed, 
Would  rush  into  the  tiger's  lair, 
And  die,  poor  reckless  victims  there  ; 
I  gird  my  loins  whatever  may  be, 
And  work  and  wait  for  victory." 

He  then  donned  his  armor  and  walked  toward  the 
richly  caparisoned  Rakush,  who  stood  impatiently  wait- 
ing for  his  master.  The  young  warrior  took  his  beau- 
tiful mother  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her  tenderly,  then 
mounting  his  gallant  steed  he  rode  away  into  the  un- 
known dangers  of  his  perilous  campaign. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
THE   HEFT-KHAN,  OR  SEVEN    LABORS   OF  RUSTEM. 

A  LION  SLAIN  BY  RAKUSH — ESCAPE  FROM  THE  DESERT 
— THE  DRAGON  SLAIN — THE  ENCHANTRESS— CAPTURE 
OF  AULAD — VICTORY  OVER  DEMONS — SEVENTH 
LABOR,  THE  WHITE  DEMON  SLAIN — THE  MARRIAGE 
OF  RUSTEM — SOHRAB. 

TTTITH  only  his  faithful  horse  for  company,  the 
W  young  chieftain  set  out  upon  his  perilous  at- 
tempt to  rescue  the  infatuated  monarch  from  the  foe 
in  whose  hands  he  was  so  justly  suffering.  The  gen- 
erous steed  pushed  rapidly  forward,  making  two  days' 
journey  in  one,  and  after  a  time  they  entered  a  gloomy 
forest,  which  was  filled  with  herds  of  gor.1  Op- 
pressed with  hunger,  Rustem  saw  not  the  dangers  of 
the  chase,  and  at  last  captured  one  of  the  animals, 
which  was  quickly  slain. 

A  fire  was  built,  and  a  portion  of  the  meat  was 
roasted  upon  the  point  of  his  spear,  while  Rakush 
grazed  near  his  master.  His  hunger  appeased,  the 
young  warrior  lay  down  upon  the  wild  herbage  with 
his  faithful  sword  under  his  head,  and  fell  asleep.  The 
odor  of  the  gor's  flesh  had  attracted  another  enemy, 
and  a  pair  of  fiery  eyeballs  moved  stealthily  around  the 

J  The  gor  is  the  onager,  or  wild  ass  of  the  East,  and  in  its  native  wilds  is 
a  very  dangerous  foe  to  encounter.  Its  flesh  is  often  used  for  food 
when  the  hunter  is  driven  to  extremity. 


HEFT-KHAN,    OR   SEVEN   LABORS   OF   RUSTEM.        253 

dying  fire.  The  watchful  horse  scented  the  foe  and 
stepped  a  little  closer  to  his  unconscious  master.  Here 
he  waited  for  the  attack,  and  soon '  a  huge  lion 
bounded  from  the  underbrush,  and  would  have  struck 
the  sleeping  man,  but  he  was  received  with  a  terrific 
and  well- aimed  kick  that  sent  the  astonished  assailant 
back  into  the  bushes  from  whence  he  came,  and  before 
he  had  time  to  recover  from  his  amazement  the  furi- 
ous horse  was  upon  him,  and  was  still  stamping,  in 
his  rage,  the  now  lifeless  carcass  when  Rustem  awoke. 

"  Ah  Rakush,1  why  so  thoughtless  grown, 
To  fight  a  lion  thus  alone  ? 
For  had  it  been  thy  fate  to  bleed, 
And  not  thy  foe,  Oh  gallant  steed  ! 
How  could  thy  masted  have  conveyed 
His  helm,  and  battle-ax,  and  blade  ? " 

Then  Rustem  again  composed  himself  to  sleep,  and 
rested  until  the  morning  light  tinted  the  distant 
mountain  peaks  with  rose  and  amber,  then  rising,  he 
saddled  his  faithful  horse,  and  pursued  his  perilous 
journey. 

Ht  was  evidently  the  custom,  even  among  the  Greeks  also,  to  harangue 
their  horses,  for  Homer  repeatedly  puts  these  speeches  into  the  mouths  of 
his  heroes.    Hector  addresses  his  horses  in  the  Eighth  Book: 
"  Be  fleet,  be  fearless,  this  important  day, 
And  all  your  master's  well-spent  care  repay. 
Now  swift  pursue,  now  thunder  uncontroll'd, 
Give  me  to  seize  rich  Nestor's  shield  of  gold." 

And  in  the  Nineteenth  Book.  Achilles  reproaches  his  horses  with  the  death 
of  Patrocles,  when 

"The  generous  Xanthus  as  the  words  he  said 
Seemed  sensible  of  woe  and  drooped  his  head; 
Trembling  he  stood  before  the  golden  wain. 
And  bowed  to  dust  the  honors  of  his  mane," 
before  he  makes  a  spirited  reply  foretelling  his  master's  death. 


254  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

ESCAPE    FROM    THE    DESERT. 

The  morning  hours  passed  quickly  to  both  man 
and  horse,  but  when  the  noontide  sun  poured  its  heat 
upon  the  heads  of  the  travelers  it  found  them  in  a 
desert,  where  the  burning  sand  seemed  to  possess  the 
elements  of  fire.  Horse  and  rider  were  tortured  with 
the  most  maddening  thirst.  At  last,  unable  to  endure 
it  longer,  Rustem  alighted  and  vainly  wandered  around 
in  search  of  relief  until  his  eye  fell  upon  a  desolate 
sheep,  which  he  followed,  and  came  to  a  fountain  of 
water.  He  afterward  killed  a  gor,  and  lighting  a  fire 
he  again  roasted  the  savory  flesh  and  satisfied  his 
hunger.  By  this  time  the  shades  of  night  were  com- 
ing on,  and  he  gladly  sought  for  a  resting  place  in 
the  desert,  while  Rakush  fed  upon  the  stunted  herb- 
age around  him.  Before  lying  down,  however,  he 
gave  his  horse  a  parting  injunction : 

"  Beware,  my  steed,  of  future  strife, 
Again  thou  must  not  risk  thy  life ; 
But  should  an  enemy    appear, 
Ring  loud  thy  warning  in  my  ear.  " 

THE    DRAGON    SLAIN. 

The  bright  constellations  in  the  tropical  sky  pointed 
to  the  hour  of  midnight,  when  the  horse  was  again 
startled.  A  colossal  dragon-serpent  eighty  yards  in 
length  moved  slowly  toward  them.  It  was  the  terror 
of  the  desert,  and  neither  elephant,  lion,  nor  demon 
dared  to  venture  near  its  lair.  Rakush  stepped  nearer 
to  his  unconscious  master  and  neighed  loudly,  but  the 
noise  so  startled  the  dragon  that  when  Rustem  awoke 
and  looked  around  he  could  see  nothing,  and  lying 


HEFT-KHAN,    OB  SEVEN   LABORS   OF   KUSTEM.        255 

down  he  went  to  sleep  again.  The  darkness  became 
thicker  and  more  impenetrable,  but  in  its  midst  the 
watchful  horse  again  saw  the  gleaming  of  the  snaky 
eyes,  and  again  he  roused  his  master,  who  rose  up  in 
alarm  but  tried  in  vain  to  penetrate  the  darkness 
around  him.  Then  annoyed  by  these  apparently 
needless  alarms,  he  spoke  sharply  to  Rakush : 
"  Why  thus  again  disturb  my  rest, 

When  sleep  had  softly  soothed  my  breast  ? 

I  told   thee  if  thou  chanced  to  see 

Another  dangerous  enemy 

To  sound  the  alarm  ;  but  not  to  keep 

Depriving  me  of  needful  sleep." 

Rnstem  again  went  to  sleep,  while  the  tireless 
watcher  stood  undaunted  by  his  side,  even  though 
grieved  and  wounded  by  unjust  reproaches.  The 
dragon  appeared,  and  the  faithful  horse  tore  up  the 
earth  with  his  feet  in  trying  to  arouse  his  master. 
Rustem  again  awoke,  and  sprang  angrily  to  his  feet, 
but  in  that  moment  he  caught  a  gleam  of  the  snaky 
eyes  of  the  foe,  then  quickly  he  drew  his  sword  and 
closed  in  strife  with  the  huge  monster.  Dreadful  was 
the  shock,  and  perilous  to  Rustem  ;  but  when  Rakush 
saw  that  the  contest  was  doubtful,  with  his  keen 
teeth  he  furiously  bit  and  tore  away  the  dragon's 
scaly  hide,  when  quick  as  thought  the  champion  sev- 
ered the  ghastly  head,  and  deluged  all  the  plain  with 
horrid  blood. 

THE  ENCHANTRESS. 

When  Rustem  again  resumed  the  saddle,  his  way 
lay  through  a  land  of  enchantment.  The  feathered 


256  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

palm  trees  along  his  way  whispered  to  the  listening 
gods,  and  the  softly  breathing  pipal  boughs  told  to 
the  south  wind  the  story  of  their  lives.  Citrons  and 
rose-apples  lay  in  rich  profusion  upon  the  ground,  and 
the  broad  bananas  flaunted  their  silken  flags  around 
the  ripening  fruit.  A  crystal  stream  flowed  along 
between  verdant  banks  of  luxurious  foliage,  and  the 
bulbuls  chanted  in  the  depths  of  the  wood.  And  lo, 
in  this  beautiful  wilderness  was  a  daintily  spread  table 
awaiting  the  hungry  traveler,  where  the  richest  trop- 
ical fruits  lay  beside  a  roast  of  venison,  and  the  cups 
were  filled  with  purple  wine,  while  the  sweet  voice  of 
an  invisible  singer  was  borne  upon  his  ear.  As  he 
alighted  and  approached  the  table,  the  voice  of  the 
singer  came  nearer,  and  soon  there  stood  revealed 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  tempting  table,  a  woman 
of  peerless  beauty. 

Her  complexion  was  like  shell-tinted  ivory,  and 
ner  dark,  love-lighted  eyes  were  curtained  with  long, 
sweeping  lashes.  Her  cheeks  were  tinted  with  rose 
color,  like  the  pearly  tints  of  morning,  and  her  beau- 
tiful figure  was  scarcely  concealed  by  the  misty  Ori- 
ental robes  that  she  wore.  Rustem  gazed  upon  her  rich 
beauty  in  a  dazed  and  helpless  way,  while  she  came 
nearer,  and  nearer — singing  as  she  came,  and  holding 
out  her  little  hands  to  him.  At  last  she  stood  almost 
within  his  arms,  and  turning  her  beautiful  face  up 
towards  his,  she  chanted  a  low  love  song,  pleading 
with  the  warrior  for  a  place  in  his  heart.  A  moment 
— one  perilous  moment — he  wavered,  and  nearly  be- 
came her  victim,  but  his  conscience  and  his  man- 
liness came  to  his  rescue.  "  Away,"  he  cried,  "  thou 


HEFT-KHAN,    OR   SEVEN    LABORS   OF   RUSTEM.        257 

beautiful  sorceress,"  and  as  he  drew  his  sword  the  fig- 
ure vanished,  and  the  low,  mocking  laugh  of  a  fiend 
was  heard  in  the  distance.  Gone  the  dainty  table 
with  its  tempting  viands  and  poisoned  wine — gone 
the  beautiful  enchantress — and  the  brave  warrior  was 
again  the  victor. 

CAPTURE   OF   AULAD. 

Then,  proceeding  on  his  way,  he  approached  a  re- 
gion destitute  of  light,  a  void  of  utter  darkness.  Nei- 
ther moon  nor  star  shone  through  the  gloom  ;  no 
choice  of  path  remained.  Therefore  throwing  loose  the 
rein,  he  gave  Rakush  liberty  to  travel  on  unguided. 
At  length  the  darkness  was  dispersed,  the  earth  be- 
came a  scene  of  light,  and  the  soil  was  covered  with 
waving  grain.  There  Rustem  paused,  and  dismount- 
ing from  his  steed,  he  laid  himself  down  and  slept, 
with  his  shield  beneath  his  head  and  his  sword  before 
him. 

While  he  slept  his  faithful  horse  grazed  upon  the 
growing  corn,  and  the  keeper  of  the  grounds  came 
and  saw,  and,  hastening  away,  told  his  master,  Aulad, 
that  a  black  demon  and  his  horse  were  destroying  the 
growing  grain.  Then  Aulad  hastily  gathered  his  troops 
to  take  the  warrior  prisoner,  but  their  leader  was 
killed  by  Rustem,  and  great  numbers  of  his  men  were 
scattered  lifeless  over  the  plain.  Aulad  himself  was 
taken  prisoner,  for  the  warrior  needed  a  guide,  and 
thus  he  spoke  to  his  captive  : 

"  If  thou  wilt  speak  the  truth,  and  faithfully  point 
out  to  me  the  caves  of  the  White  Demon  and  his  war- 
rior chiefs,  where  .Kai-kaus  is  prisoned,  thy  reward 


258  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

shall  be  the  kingdom  of  Maziuderfui,  for  I  myself  will 
place  thee  on  that  throne.  But  if  thou  play'st  me 
false,  thy  worthless  blood  shall  answer  for  the  foul  de- 
ception." 

"  Stay!  Be  not  wroth,"  Aulad  at  once  replied.  "  Thy 
wish  shall  be  fulfilled,  and  thou  shalt  know  where 
Kai-kaus  is  prisoned,  and  also  where  the  White  Demon 
reigns.  Between  two  dark  and  lofty  mountains,  in 
two  hundred  caves,  immeasurably  deep,  his  people 
dwell.  Twelve  hundred  demons  keep  the  watch  by 
night  upon  the  mountain's  brow,  and  like  a  reed  the 
hills  tremble  whenever  the  White  Demon  moves.  But 
dangerous  is  the  way.  A  stormy  desert  lies  full  before 
thee,  which  the  nimble  deer  has  never  passed.  Then 
a  broad  stream  two  farsangs  wide  obstructs  thy  path, 
whose  banks  are  covered  with  a  host  of  warrior  de- 
mons guarding  the  passage  to  Mazinderan.  Canst  thou 
o'ercome  such  fearful  obstacles  as  these?"  The  cham- 
pion simply  said,  "  Show  me  but  the  way." 

Aulad  proceeded,  Rustem  following  fast,  mounted 
upon  Eakush.  Neither  night  nor  day  they  rested — on 
they  went  until  they  reached  the  fatal  field  where 
Kai-kaus  was  overcome.  At  the  midnight  hour  a 
piercing  clamor  echoed  through  the  woodland,  and 
blazing  fires  were  seen,  while  numerous  lamps  gleamed 
brightly  on  every  side.  Rustem  inquired  what  this 
might  be.  "It  is  Mazinderfm,"  Aulad  rejoined,  "and 
the  White  Demon's  chiefs  are  gathered  there."  Then 
Rustem  bound  to  a  tree  his  obedient  guide — to  keep 
him  safe — and,  to  recruit  his  strength,  laid  down 
awhile  and  soundly  slept.  When  morning  dawned  he 
rose,  and  mounting  Rakush  put  his  helmet  on.  The 


HEFT-KHAN,    OR  SEVEN   LABORS  OF    RUSTEM.        259 

tiger  skin  l  defended  his  broad  chest,  and  sallying  forth 
he  sought  the  Demon  chief,  Arzang,  and  summoned 
him  to  battle  with  such  a  call  that  stream  and  moun- 
tain shook.  Arzang  sprang  up  on  hearing  a  human 
voice,  and  from  his  tent  hastily  issued.  The  champion 
met  him,  and  tearing  off  the  gory  head,  he  cast  it  far 
into  the  ranks  of  the  shuddering  demons,  who  fell 
back  and  fled,  lest  they  should  likewise  feel  that 
r  dreadful  punishment. 

VICTORY   OVER   DEMONS. 

The  principal  chieftain  of  the  White  Demon  having 
met  this  fearful  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Persian 
warrior,  he  released  Aulad  from  his  bonds,  and  com- 
manded the  guide  to  show  him  the  way  to  the  place 
where  Kai-kaus  was  confined.  Entering  Mazinderan 
by  night,  the  guide  led  the  way  to  Kai-kaus  and  his 
fellow  captives,  the  blind  and  helpless  warriors.  Great 
rejoicing  heralded  his  arrival,  for  the  prisoners  looked 
to  Rustem  for  a  deliverance  from  their  sorrows.  The 
blind  king  told  the  Persian  hero  where  to  find  the 
stronghold  of  the  demons,  away  in  the  caverns  of  the 
Seven  Mountains,  where,  within  a  deep  and  horrible 
recess,  lived  the  White  Demon. 

"  Conquer  him,  destroy  that   fell   magician,  and  re- 

i  This  "  tiger  skin"  is  supposed  to  be  a  magic  garment  which  had  the 
power  of  resisting  the  impression  of  every  weapoii.    It  was  proof  against 
fire,  and  would  not  sink  in  water.    According  to  some  classic  authorities,  he 
received  it  from  his  father,  Zai;  others  say  it  was  made  from  the  skin  of  an 
animal  which  Rustem  killed  on  the  mountain  of  Sham.    It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  heroes  of  ancient  poets  frequently  wore  the  skins  of  animals. 
Hercules  wore  the  skin  of  the  Nemsean  lion.    The  skins  of  panthers  and 
leopards  were  worn  by  the  Greek  andTroian  chiefs,  and  Virgil  says  of  Alcestes: 
"  Rough  in  appearance,  with  darts,  and  a  Libyan  bearskin  around  him, 
Whom  once  a  Trojan  mother  had  borne  to  the  river  Cremisus." 

(^n..  Book  V,36.) 


260  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

store  to  sight  thy  suffering  king  and  all  his  warrior 
train.  The  wise  in  cures  declare  that  the  warm  blood 
from  the  White  Demon's  heart  dropped  in  the  eye 
cures  all  blindness.  It  is  then  my  hope  that  thou  wilt 
slay  the  fiend,  and  save  us  from  the  misery  of  dark- 
ness without  end/' 

Rustem  therefore  hurried  on  toward  the  enchanted 
heights  of  the  Heft-khan,  or  Seven  Mountains.  He 
found  every  cave  guarded  by  companies  of  demons,  . 
and,  consulting  with  his  guide,  he  determined  to  make 
the  attack  at  noonday,  when  the  demons  were  over- 
powered by  the  heat,  and  were  accustomed  to  sleep. 
He  therefore  waited  the  auspicious  hour,  and  binding 
Aulad  again  to  a  tree,  he  drew  his  sword  and  rushed 
into  the  horde  of  demons,  slaying  first  the  few  senti- 
nels who  were  awake,  and  then  rapidly  destroying  the 
slumbering  fiends.  When  one  awoke  he  received  his 
death  blow  so  suddenly  that  he  had  no  time  to  give 
the  alarm.  The  mountain  ravines  received  the  slaugh- 
tered demons,  and  the  few  that  escaped  fled  screaming 
into  the  deepest  caves,  and  left  the  Persian  victorious 
upon  his  chosen  field. 

SEVENTH    LABOR — THE   WHITE    DEMON    SLAIN. 

In  this  preliminary  carnage  Rustem  had  discovered 
the  stronghold  of  the  White  Demon,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  give  battle  to  this  king  of  fiends.  Advancing 
to  the  cavern,  he  looked  down,  down  into  its  gloomy 
recesses — dismal  as  hell  itself — but  not  one  of  the  sor- 
cerers could  be  seen.  Awhile  he  stood  and  waited, 
holding  his  faithful  falchion  in  his  grasp,  until  there 
slowly  came  in  sight  a  mountain  form,  with  flaming 


HEFT-KHAN,    OR   SEVEN    LABORS   OF    RUSTEM.        261 

eyes,  and  covered  over  with  long  white  hair.  The 
colossal  shape  filled  the  mouth  of  the  huge  cavern  as 
forth  he  cams,  bearing  a  great  stone  in  one  mammoth 
hand.  His  fiery  breath  came  quickly,  and  his  eyes 
flashed  with  ire,  as  he  haughtily  asked: 

"  Art  thou  so  tired  of  life  that  reckless  thus 
Thou  dost  invade  the  precincts  of  demons  ? 
Tell  me  thy  name,  that  I  may  not  destroy 
A  nameless  thing." 

The  warrior  then  replied,  "  My  name  is  Rustem, 
sent  by  Zal,  my  father,  who  was  descended  from  Sam 
Suwfir,  to  be  revenged  on  thee ;  the  king  of  Persia 
being  now  a  prisoner  at  Mazinderan." 

When  the  demon  heard  the  name  of  Suwar  he 
cringed  with  fear.  Then  springing  forward  he  hurled 
the  huge  stone  against  his  adversary  who  fell  back, 
and  thus  avoided  the  fearful  blow. 

The  demon  frowned  more  darkly,  and  Rustem  wield- 
ing high  his  sword,  severed  one  dreadful  limb.  Then 
they  grappled  in  a  death  struggle,  and  the  mountain 
trembled  beneath  the  shock.  The  flesh  of  both  was  torn, 
and  the  streaming  blood  crimsoned  the  earth.  As  the 
fearful  strife  went  on,  Rustem  said  in  his  heart,  "If  I 
survive  this  dreadful  day  I  am  surely  immortal,"  and 
the  White  Demon  muttered  to  himself,  "  I  now  de- 
spair of  life — sweet  life — nevermore  shall  I  be  wel- 
comed at  Mazinderan." 

And  still  they  struggled  on,  while  sweat  and  blood 
were  mingled  at  every  strain  of  muscle,  until  Rustem, 
gathering  all  his  power  for  one  last  effort,  raised  up 
the  gasping  demon  in  his  arms  and  threw  him  over 


262  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  face  of  the  cliff  into  a  yawning  chasm  below. 
The  monster  fell,  and  the  life-blood  oozed  from  the 
crushed  and  mangled  form.  Then  rushing  down  the 
steep  incline,  beside  the  mountain,  he  tore  out  the  heart 
of  the  conquered  demon,  and  releasing  his  fettered 
guide  he  hastened  away  to  restore  the  sight  of  the  king 
and  his  helpless  warriors. 

"  The  Champion  brought  the  demon's  heart 
And  squeezed  the  blood  from  every  part, 
Which,  dropped  upon  the  injured  sight, 
Made  all  things  visible  and  bright." 

The  restored  monarch  immediately  returned  to  his 
throne,  and  the  return  march  of  his  warriors  was  a 
triumphal  one ;  but  Kustem  stayed  until  he  con- 
quered the  whole  demon  host,  and  placed  Aulad  upon 
the  throne  of  Mazinderan,  according  to  the  promise  he 
had  made.  Then  he  returned  to  receive  the  highest 
honors  the  Persian  king  could  lavish  upon  him. 

THE   MARRIAGE   OF    RUSTEM. 

"Weary  at  last  of  the  luxuries  and  honors  pertain- 
ing to  the  court,  Rustem  set  out  upon  a  hunting  ex- 
pedition. Mounted  upon  his  splendid  steed  he  soon 
passed  the  confines  of  the  Persian  domain  and  reached 
the  beautiful  wilds  of  Turan  ;  here  the  herds  of  ona- 
ger roamed  at  will  from  the  sullen  grandeur  of  the 
uplands  to  the  fairer  vales  below  them.  He  urged  the 
gallant  Rakush  on  through  wood  and  glen,  while  the 
swift-footed  gor  dashed  through  the  thickets  or  sported 
over  the  plain ;  his  quivering  darts  were  often  sent 
through  the  glossy  skin  of  the  dangerous  game,  and 


HEFT-KHAN,    OR   SEVEN   LABORS   OF   RUSTEM.        263 

when  he  wearied  of  the  sport  the  hunter  sought  the 
shade  of  a  thicket,  and  far  above  his  head  the  palm 
trees  waved  their  plumes,  while  doves  and  sunbirds 
fluttered  through  their  swinging  crowns.  A  little 
stream  near  by,  flashed  in  the  sunbeams  and  rippled 
away  midst  the  flowers.  The  gallant  horse  was  allowed 
to  graze  while  the  master  slept,  and  tempted  by  the 
rich  herbage  he  wandered  away  from  the  sleeper.  A 
band  of  Tartar  horsemen  saw  his  perfect  form  and 
marked  his  splendid  chest  and  well-poised  head.  Slowly 
they  approached  and  quickly  flung  a  noose  over  the 
noble  head,  then  coming  near  to  make  the  capture 
sure  the  animal  charged  upon  his  foes,  and  two  of 
them  bit  the  dust  beneath  his  steel-clad  hoofs. 

The  others  had  grown  more  cautious,  and  another 
noose  was  thrown.  Then  another  horseman  ventured 
near,  only  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  the  quick  feet  of 
the  horse.  Another  was  thrown,  and  this  time  no  ap- 
proach was  made,  but  with  long  lines  on  either  side 
the  victim  was  led  between  the  Tartar  chiefs  until 
they  reached  their  own  encampment. 

Rustem  awoke  and  called  his  steed,  but  no  answer- 
ing neigh  rang  out  the  glad  reply.  Long  he  searched, 
but  searched  in  vain.  He  knew  that  Rakush  had  not 
willingly  strayed  away,  and  indignantly  he  traced 
his  steps  to  Samenegan,  the  capital  of  Turan,  for  the 
broad  track  of  Jiis  horse  led  that  way. 

As  he  approached  the  shining  turrets  of  the  city  he 
met  the  king  with  all  his  court,  anxious  to  do  honor 
to  the  distinguished  guest.  But  Rustem  haughtily  re- 
fused the  proffered  friendship  until  his  horse  should 
be  restored. 


264  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

"  I've  traced  his  footsteps  to  your  royal  town. 
Here  must  he  be,   protected  by  your  crown. 
But  if  retained — if  not  from  fetters  freed, 
My  vengeance  shall  o'ertake  the  felon  deed." 
"  My  honored  guest,"  the  wondering  king  replied, 
"  Shall  Rustem's  wants  or  wishes  be  denied  ? 
If  still  within  the  limits  of  my  reign, 
The  well-known  courser  shall  be  thine  again. 
For  Rakush  never  can  remain  concealed 
No  more  than  Rustem  on  the  battle-field." 

Then  again  he  urged  his  royal  hospitality  upon  the 
Persian  hero,  as  he  sent  out  men  to  look  for  the  horse. 
Pacified  with  the  royal  promise  of  restoration,  Rustem 
accepted  the  hospitality  of  the  king.  Soon 

"  The  ready  herald  by  the  king's  command, 
Convened  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  land, 
And  soon  the  banquet  social  glee  restored, 
And  china  wine  cups  glittered  on  the  board ; 
And  cheerful  song,  and  music's  matchless  power, 
And  sparkling  wine  beguiled  the  festive  hour." 

When  the  royal  banquet  was  over  a  magnificent 
couch  was  prepared  for  the  great  chieftain,  and  in  the 
perfumed  bed  the  weary  traveler  slept  soundly.  One 
watch  of  the  night  had  already  passed  when  Rustem 
was  awakened  by  a  light  in  his  room,  and  there  before 
his  astonished  eyes  stood  the  peerless  daughter  of  the 
Tartar  king  in  all  her  wondrous  beauty.  She  stood 
with  frightened  look,  the  rich  color  flushing  her  olive 
cheeks,  her  dark  eyes  beaming  beneath  the  splendid 
lashes,  and  her  mouth,  flower-soft  and  sensitive,  seemed 
moulded  for  an  expectant  kiss.  Her  black  ringlets  were 


HEflT-KHAX,    OR   SEVEN   LABORS   OF   RUSTEM.        265 

snares1  for  a  warrior's  heart.  Her  graceful  hands  were 
perfectly  formed  and  stained  with  henna  upon  the 
dainty  palms.  But  she  was  fully  robed,  and  she,  the 
daughter  of  the  king,  had  not  come  alone  into  the 
room  of  this  stranger  guest — her  faithful  maid  stood 
beside  her,  and  bore  the  taper  from  which  a  soft 
radiance  filled  all  the  room. 

The  astonished  warrior  asked  what  stranger  this, 
and  why  she  had  broken  upon  his  rest.  "  What  is 
thy  name?"  he  said.  "Fair  vision,  speak!"  Then 
from  the  mouth  of  rose  and  pearl  there  fell  the 
accents  of  sweetest  music : 

"  No  curious  eye  has  yet  these  features  seen, 
My  voice  unheard  beyond  the  sacred  screen. 
But  often  have  I  listened  with  amaze 
To  thy  great  deeds,  enamoured  of  thy  praise. 
How  oft  from  every  tongue  I've  heard  the  strain, 
And   thought   of    thee,    and    sighed,    and   sighed    in 

vain. 

The  ravenous  eagle  hovering  o'er  his  prey, 
Starts  at  thy  gleaming  sword  and  flies  away  ! 
Thou  art  the  slayer  of  the  demon  brood 
And  the  fierce  monsters  of  the  echoing  wood. 
Enchanted  with  the  stories  of  thy  fame, 
My  fluttering  heart  responded  to  thy  name. 
Oh,  claim  my  hand,  and  grant  my  soul's  desire, 
Ask  me  in  marriage  of  my  royal  sire  ! " 

i  Compare  Shakespeare— 

"Here  in  her  hairs 

The  painter  plays  the  spider — and  hath  woven 
A  golden  mesh  to  entrap  the  hearts  of  men 
Paster  than  gnats  in  cobwebs  :  but  her  eyes.'' 

—Merchant  of  Venice,  Hi,  2. 


266  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Not  a  word  was  lost  upon  Rustem,  whose  heart 
beat  out  a  glad  response  to  her  plea,  and  before 
another  day  had  passed  his  suit  had  been  duly  pre- 
sented to  the  king. 

"  O'erjoyed  the  king  the  honoring  suit  approves, 
O'erjoyed  to  bless  the  doting  child  he  loves, 
And  happier  still  in  showering  smiles  around, 
To  be  allied  to  warrior  so  renowned.  " 

The  nuptials  were  not  long  delayed,  and  the  mar- 
riage bower  were  crowned  with  roses  and  decked  with 
white  lilies,  while  the  royal  abode  was  flooded  with 
music  and  light.  It  seemed  to  Rustem  that  all  the 
world,  like  some  vast  tidal  wave,  had  rolled  away  and 
left  him  on  a  golden  shore — alone  with  his  beloved. 

SOHRAB. 

Not  long  could  the  Persian  warrior  remain  with  his 
Tartar  bride,  for  his  king  claimed  his  allegiance,  and 
summoned  him  to  lead  important  campaigns.  Before 
their  son  was  born  he  Avas  called  away,  but  he  left  a 
radiant  bracelet  set  with  rare  and  peculiar  gems  as  a 
heritage  for  his  child,  and  mounted  upon  his  faithful 
Rakush  he  was  borne  away  to  the  field  of  conflict. 

The  wife  Tammeh  was  later  blessed  with  a  won- 
drous boy — the  image  of  his  noble  sire.  But  when 
the  father's  fond  inquiry  came,  the  coward-heart  of 
the  mother  betrayed  her  into  falsehood.  Fearing  that 
the  boy  might  be  taken  away  and  educated  at  the 
Persian  court,  and  thus  alienated  from  his  Tartar 
blood,  she  sent  her  husband  word  that  it  was  a 
daughter  that  had  been  born  unto  them,  and  the  fact 


HEFT- KHAN,    OR   SEVEN   LABORS   OF    RUSTEM.        267 

was  carefully  hidden  from  the  father  that  he  had  a 
son.  So  little  were  daughters  prized  in  the  East,  that 
he  never  asked  to  see  the  child,  and  the  boy  came  to 
manhood  with  very  little  knowledge  of  his  father. 
Sohrab  bore  the  splendid  physique  of  his  noble  race ; 
as  a  hunter  or  wrestler  he  had  no  equal  in  all  the 
realms  of  Turan.  The  Tartar  king  placed  him  at  the 
head  of  his  armies,  and  mounted  on  his  splendid 
horse — the  son  of  Rakush — the  gallant  youth  took  his 
place  at  the  head  of  the  glittering  host. 

"  His  grandsire  pleased  beheld  the  warrior  train 
Successive  throng  and  darken  all  the  plain. 
And  bounteously  his  treasures  he  supplied, 
Camels  and  steeds  and  gold.     In  martial  pride 
Sohrfib  was  seen — a  Grecian  helmet  graced 
His  brow — and  costliest  mail  his  limbs  embraced. 
The  insidiouc  king  sees  well,  the  tempting  hour 
Favoring  his  arms  against  the  Persian  power, 
But  treacherous,  first  his  martial  chiefs  he  prest 
To  keep  the  secret  fast  within  their  breast  ; 
For  this  bold  youth  shall  not  his  father  know, 
Each  must  confront  the  other  as  his  foe. 
Unknown,  the  youth  shall  Rustem's  force  withstand, 
And  soon  o'erwhelm  the  bulwark  of  the  land. 
Rustem  removed,  the  Persian  throne  is  ours, 
An  easy  conquest  to  confederate  powers." 

By  the  careful  intrigues  of  the  king,  the  Tartar 
host  was  soon  arrayed  against  Persia,  and  all  unknown 
to  each,  the  father  and  son  were  drawn  up  in  battle 
array  against  each  other.  When  the  eye  of  Rustem 
fell  upon  the  magnificent  figure  of  the  young  Tartar 


268  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

prince,  he  was  astonished  at  his  martial  bearing,  for 
he  seemed  to  wear  the  manly  form  of  his  own  race. 
He  marked  the  strong  shoulders,  so  much  resembling 
Zal,  and  knew  that  this  strong  warrior  knight  sat  his 
splendid  horse  like  Rustem's  self.  He  thought  : 

"  He  cannot  be  my  son  unknown  to  me; 
Reason  forbids  the  thought — it  cannot  be. 
At  Samenegan,  where  once  affection  smiled, 
To  me  Tahmmeh  bore  her  only  child. 
That  was  a  daughter.  " 

Then  the  trumpets'  clang  announced  the  attack  of 
the  invader,  as  the  Tartar  horde  sprang  into  the 
fight.  The  troops  of  horse  and  foot  were  blended  in 
the  wild  disorder  of  Oriental  battle,  and  the  very 
earth  seemed  to  shake  beneath  the  shock,  while  the 
dust  driven  in  dark  eddies  whirled  high  in  air,  ob- 
scuring the  very  face  of  heaven. 

The  bright  steel  armor  glittered  over  all  the  plain, 
but  alas,  it  covered  the  forms  of  fallen  heroes  as 
often  as  it  shielded  the  daring  hearts  of  living  riders. 
The  light  flashed  from  the  gold  emblazoned  shields 
as  the  glittering  spears  struck  the  bright  surface, 
until  it  seemed  as  if  the  clouds  were  pouring  showers 
of  sparkling  amber  upon  the  plain. 

Thus  the  tide  of  battle  ebbed  and  flowed,  while 
thousands  were  falling  on  either  side,  until  the  shades 
of  night  came  down  upon  the  fearful  scene.  Then  a 
council  of  the  chiefs  on  either  side  was  called,  and 
it  was  decreed  that  the  next  day  the  question  of 
victory  should  be  decided  by  single  combat  be- 
tween the  leaders  of  the  forces.  Thus  was  Rustem 


HEFT-KHAN,   OR  SEVEN   LABORS  OF   RUSTEM.       269 

brought  into  close  conflict  with  his  only  child. 
Father  and  son,  unknown  to  each  other,  struggled 
in  awful  strife,  while  the  treacherous  Tartar  chiefs 
looked  gladly  on,  glorying  in  the  thought  that  they 
would  be  rid  of  either  a  dangerous  foe  or  a  still 
more  dangerous  rival — possibly  both.  The  younger 
blood  and  stronger  sinews  of  Sohrab  won  the  first  vic- 
tories, but  Rustem  sprang  again  upon  him  and  in- 
flicted a  fatal  blow.  As  Sohrab  fell  he  felt  that  his 
wound  was  fatal,  and  he  cried  out,  "  I  came  here 
hoping  to  find  my  father,  but  have  found  only  death 
instead."  "Who  is  thy  father?"  demanded  the  Per- 
sian champion.  "  My  father  is  Rustem,  and  my 
mother  is  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Samenegan." 

The  words  went  through  the  father's  heart  like  a 
poisoned  spear,  and  he  fell  almost  unconscious  beside 
his  murdered  boy.  "  Ungird  my  mail,"  faltered  the 
dying  warrior,  "  and  behold  the  bracelet  my  mother 
bound  upon  my  arm.  An  instinct  was  ever  at  my 
heart  that  thou  wert  Rustem,  but  the  Tartar  chiefs 
ever  and  always  told  me  nay — that  thou  wast  not  in 
the  fight — that  only  thy  servant  led  thy  troops." 

The  sight  of  the  amulet  was  a  fearful  blow  to 
Rustem,  for  it  proved  at  once  the  identity  of  his 
murdered  son,  and  the  falsehood  of  his  treacherous 
wife. 

"  Prostrate  he  falls.     '  By  my  unnatural  hand 
My  son,  my  son  is  slain — and  from  the  land 
Uprooted/    Frantic  in  the  dust,  his  hair 
He  rends  in  agony  and  deep  despair. 
The  western  sun  had  disappeared  in  gloom, 
And  still  the  Champion  wept  his  cruel  doom. 


270  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

His  wondering  legions  marked  the  long  delay, 
And  seeing  Rakush  riderless  astray, 
The  rumor  quick  to  Persia's  monarch  sped, 
And  there  described  the  mighty  Rustem  dead." 

The  king's  chosen  men  were  sent  to  find  the  war- 
rior, whether  he  be  slain  or  wounded.  They  found  him 
in  his  terrible  grief,  and  the  war-spirit  seemed  dead  in 
his  bosom. 

"Go,"  said  he,  "to  the  Tartar  chiefs,  and  say  to 
them,  '  No  more  shall  war  between  us  stain  the  earth 
with  blood/"  A  moment  more,  and  the  young  warrior 
was  dead,  and  on  a  Persian  bier  his  lifeless  form  was 
laid,  while  Rustem,  sick  of  martial  pomp  and  show, 
ordered  the  gorgeous  pageantry  of  war  to  be  consigned 
to  the  flames,1  for  all  the  warrior's  pride  lay  in  dust 
and  ashes  as  he  followed  the  bier  to  the  imperial  rest- 
ing place  which  was  provided  for  Sohrab.  But  to  the 
mother  was  carried  the  most  fearful  blow,  when  the 
Tartar  chiefs  led  back  the  splendid  steed  all  riderless, 
and  laid  at  her  feet  the  coat  of  mail  her  son  had 
worn,  while  they  told  the  story  of  his  fall  beneath  his 
father's  hand.  What  a  terrible  penalty  her  falsehood 
had  brought  upon  her  head  and  heart ! 

"  Distracted,  wild,  she  sprang  from  place  to  place, 
With  frenzied  hands  deformed  her  beauteous  face. 
The  strong  emotion  choked  her  panting  breath, 
Her  veins  seemed  withered  by  the  cold  of  death. 
Then  gazing  up,    distraught,  she  wept  again, 
And  frantic,  seeing  midst  her  pitying  train 

i  In  Virgil  there  is  a  similar  scene,  where  Dido  bids  her  sister  erect  a 
pile  to  burn  the  arms  and  the  presents  of  JSneas. 


HEFT-KHAN,    OK   SEVEN    LABORS   OF   RUSTEM.        271 

The  favorite  steed— now  more  than  ever  dear — 

The  hoofs  she  kissed  and  bathed  with  many  a  tear  ; 

Clasping  the  mail  Sohrab  in  bat-tie  wore, 

With  burning  lips  she  kissed  it  o'er  and  o'er. 

His  martial  robes  she  in  her  arms  comprest, 

And  like  an  infant  strained  them   to   her  breast." 

Day  after  day,  night  after  night,  she  gave  way  to 
her  helpless  grief.  Unceasingly  she  raved  and  wept 
by  turns  for  one  long  year,  then  nature  gave  way, 
and  she  found  rest  in  the  arms  of  Death — "  the  great 
Consoler." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

ISFENDIYAR. 

THE  HEFT-KHAN  OF  ISFENDIYAR — THE  BRAZEN  FORT- 
RESS—THE CONFLICT  WITH  BCSTEM— THE  FALL  OF 
THE  WARRIORS. 

"    13  USTEM     had     seven    great    labors  —  wondrous 

-•-  **     power 

Nerved  his  strong  arm  in  danger's  needful  hour. 
And  now  Firdusi's  legend  strains  declare 
The  seven  great  labors  of  Isfendiyar." 

When  the  old  Persian  king,  Kai-Khosrou,  abdicated 
in  favor  of  his  successor,  he  gave  to  Rustem  the  do- 
minions of  Zabul,  and  Kabul  and  Nimruz,  and  in 
course  of  time  Gushtasp,1  the  Constantine  of  the  Fire- 
worshippers,  came  to  the  throne  of  Persia.  This 
monarch  had  two  sons.  One  of  them  was  Bashutan, 
and  the  other  was  Isfeudiyar,  a  knight  whose  valor 
was  only  second  to  that  of  Rustem.  He  had  led  his 
father's  armies  in  many  a  long  campaign — had  invaded 
Hindustan  and  Arabia,  and  several  other  countries, 
and  had,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  established  the 
religion  of  the  Fire-worshippers  in  them  all.  But  Ar- 
jasp,  a  demon  king,  had  invaded  the  Persian  empire, 
and  carried  captive  two  daughters  of  Gushtasp.  The 

i  There  is  a  tradition  that  Gushtasp  was  Darius  Hystaspes.  and  that  his 
son  Isfendiyar  was  Xerxes. 

272 


ISFENDIYAR.  273 

fair  prisoners  were  confined  in  a  brazen  fortress  on 
the  top  of  an  almost  inaccessible  mountain,  which  was 
also  the  palace  home  of  Arjasp,  and  he  required  the 
most  servile  labor  from  the  Persian  maidens. 

THE   HEFT-KHAN,    OR   SEVEN  LABORS   OF   ISFEXDIYAR, 

were  therefore  undertaken  in  order  to  conquer  Arjasp, 
and  restore  the  sisters  of  the  warrior.  Like  Rustem, 
he  chose  the  shortest  and  most  perilous  passage  to 
the  stronghold  of  the  enemy,  and  in  the  first  stage 
of  his  journey  he  slew  two  monstrous  wolves  who  dis- 
puted his  advance.  In  the  second  stage  he  conquered 
an  immense  lion  and  his  ferocious  mate.  In  the  third 
he  slew  a  dragon,  whose  roar  made  the  very  moun- 
tains tremble  with  fear,  while  the  poisonous  foam 
dropped  from  his  hideous  jaws.  Upon  the  fourth  day 
he  withstood  the  wiles  of  a  beauteous  woman,  who 
appealed  to  him  most  piteously  to  rescue  her  from 
the  power  of  a  demon,  whom  she  claimed  had  stolen 
her  from  her  home  and  friends.  She  expressed  the 
strongest  admiration  for  Isfendiyar,  and  pleaded  with 
him 

"  To  free  me  from  his  loathed  embrace, 
And  bear  me  to  a  fitter  place, 
Where  in  thy  circling  arms  more   softly  pressed, 
I  may  at  last  be  truly  loved  and  blest." 
Isfendiyar  called  the  beautiful  tempter  to  him,  and 
she    came  beaming   with   smiles,    and  dropping   words 
of  sweetest  flattery  from   her  crimson    lips.     Then  he 
threw  his  noose  around  her,  and  writhing  in  the  bonds 
she    could  not  break,  the    enchantress  became    first  a 
cat,  then    a  wolf,   and  at    last  appeared  in  her  true 


274  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

character  of  a  black  demon,  with  flames    issuing  from 
her  mouth,  whereupon  she   was  slain  by  Isfendiyar. 

On  the  fifth  day  he  had  the  misfortune  to  offend 
a  Simurgh,  who  attacked  him  intending  to  bear  him 
away  to  her  mountain  nest,  but  he  succeeded  in  slay- 
ing the  angry  bird  with  his  trenchant  sword. 

The   sixth    labor    consisted  in    bringing  his  troops 
safely   through    a    furious  storm    of  wind  and    snow, 
when  all  the  earth  was  covered  with   whiteness,  while 
"keenly  blew  the  blast  and  pinching  was  the   cold." 
But  the  seventh  trial  of    his  fortitude   was  found    in 
the   passage  of  a  desert  waste,   of  which    it  was  said 
"AJong  these  plains  of  burning  sand 
No  bird  can  move,  nor  ant,  nor  fly, 
No  water  slakes  the   fiery  land, 
Intensely  glows  the  flaming  sky. 
No  tiger  fierce,  or  lion  ever 
Could  breathe  that  pestilential  air, 
Even  the  unsparing  vulture  never 
Ventures  on  blood-stained  pinions  there." 
But    a    rain    had    fallen    and    partially    cooled  the 
scorched  earth,   so  that  this  danger  was  safely  passed. 

THE   BRAZEN   FORTRESS. 

When  the  darkness  of  night  had  fallen  upon  the 
landscape,  Isfendiyar  and  a  few  chosen  men  advanced 
rapidly  and  carefully  up  the  long,  precipitous  path, 
and  examined  the  bulwarks  of  the  brazen  fortress 
that  crowned  the  summit  of  the  cliff.  They  found 
its  iron  bulwarks  and  brazen  gates  impregnable  on 
every  side,  and  returned  to  the  command  discouraged 
and  dismayed.  It  had  been  a  difficult  undertaking, 


ISFENDIYAR  275 

and  they  came  into  camp  just  as  the  tints  of  morn- 
ing were  lighting  up  the  eastern  sky. 

It  was  indeed  useless  to  attempt  to  storm  this  me- 
tallic fort,  where  neither  sword  nor  spear  nor  battle-ax 
could  be  wielded  to  advantage,  therefore  Isfendiyar 
collected  a  hundred  camels,  and  loaded  a  few  of  them 
with  embroidered  cloths,  and  others  with  pearls  and 
precious  jewels,  while  upon  each  of  the'  others  two 
chests  were  placed,  and  one  warrior  was  hidden  in 
each  chest.1  Other  warriors  were  disguised  as  camel 
drivers  and  servants,  so  that  altogether  this  caravan, 
which  carried  apparently  only  merchandise,  was  quite 
a  warlike  host. 

Then  Isfendiyar  arranged  with  his  brother  to  lead 
the  rest  of  the  troops  to  the  attack  as  soon  as  he  saw 
signal  fires  upon  the  summit,  and  set  out  with  his 
caravan  of  merchandise  for  the  fortress.  lie  was  re- 
ceived as  a  Persian  merchant  bringing  valuable  goods, 
and  the  avaricious  demons  exulted  in  the  thought  that 
a  rich  caravan  had  unsuspiciously  fallen  into  their 
very  hands.  Isfendiyar  carried  rich  presents  to  the 
king,  and  besought  permission  to  sell  Persian  goods  to 
his  subjects.  The  liberality  of  tho  newcomer  won  the 
heart  of  the  king,  and  the  rich  Persian  wines  that 
he  brought  proved  especially  attractive.  Soon  the 
king  and  his  court,  and  also  his  leading  warriors, 
were  helpless  under  its  influence.  Then  the  signal 
fires  were  lighted,  and  the  warriors  were  released  from 
the  chests,  while  the  brazen  gates  were  opened  to 

1  Compare  the  wooden  horse  that  caused  the  fall  of  Troy,  also  the  fall  of 
Arzestan,  which  the  Saracen  general  conquered  by  smuggling  into  the  city  a 
portion  of  his  troops  in  chests,  having  obtained  leave  of  the  governor  to  de- 
posit there  some  old  lumber  which  impeded  his  march. 


276  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

admit  the  invaders.  Soon  the  Persian  banner  floated 
from  the  walls,  for  the  demon  king  and  his  leading 
warriors  were  slain,  and  the  sisters  of  Isfendiyar  were 
rejoicing  in  the  arms  of  their  brother.  The  con- 
queror issued  a  proclamation  offering  pardon  to  all 
who  would  swear  allegiance  to  the  Persian  king,  then 
with  his  camels  laden  with  the  richest  treasures  of 
Arjasp  he  returned  in  triumph  to  his  native  city. 
The  royal  banners  were  flung  to  the  breeze  when  the 
prince  returned  with  his  recovered  sisters  and  heavy 
spoils.  A  great  banquet  was  given,  and  the  wine 
flowed  freely.  Isfendiyar  was  placed  in  a  golden  chair 
to  receive  the  adulations  of  the  multitude,  while  he 
gave  them  the  thrilling  story  of  his  great  Heft-khan 
and  the  capture  of  the  demon  fortress. 

THE   CONFLICT  WITH   EUSTEM. 

Partially  crazed  by  prosperity,  and  also  instigated 
by  jealousy  against  his  own  son,  Gushtasp  demanded 
of  Isfendiyar  that  he  should  lead  a  campaign  against 
the  provinces  over  which  Rustem  reigned,  and  either 
slay  that  chieftain  or  bring  him  in  irons  to  the  Per- 
sian king.  In  vain  the  son  pleaded  the  loyalty  and 
nobility  of  the  warrior,  the  father  answered  that  by 
the  foolishness  of  his  predecessor  nearly  half  of  Persia 
had  been  given  into  Rustem's  hands,  and  he  demanded 
a  restitution  of  the  territory,  and  the  captivity  of 
their  ruler.  ''Take  with  thee, "  said  the  king,  "my 
whole  army  and  all  my  treasure.  What  wouldst  thou 
have  more  ?  He  who  has  conquered  the  terrific  ob- 
stacles of  the  Heft-khan,  and  has  slain  Arjasp,  and 
subdued  his  kingdom,  can  have  no  cause  to  fear  any 


ISFENDIYAR.  277 

other  chief."  Isfendiyar  replied  that  he  was  not 
prompted  to  decline  the  campaign  from  cowardice, 
but  that  Rustem  had  been  the  monitor  and  friend  of 
their  ancestors,  enriched  their  minds  and  taught  them 
to  be  brave,  and  he  was  ever  faithful  to  their  cause. 
"Besides,"  said  lie,  "thou  wert  the  honored  guest  of 
Rustem  two  long  years ;  and  at  Sistan  enjoyed  his  hos- 
pitality and  friendship — his  festive  social  board ;  and 
canst  thou  now,  forgetting  that  delightful  intercourse, 
become  his  bitterest  foe  ? " 

Gushtasp  replied:  "'Tis  true  he  may  have  served 
my  ancestors,  but  what  is  that  to  me  ?  His  spirit  is 
proud,  and  he  refused  to  yield  me  needful  aid  when 
danger  pressed ;  that  is  enough,  and  thou  canst  not 
divert  me  from  my  settled  purpose."  Kitabun,  the 
mother  of  Isfendiyar,  begged  him  to  disobey  the  king 
rather  than  to  undertake  so  dangerous  and  dishonor- 
able a  campaign.  She  claimed  that  curses  must  fall 
upon  the  throne,  and  ruin  seize  the  country  which 
returned  evil  for  good  and  spurned  its  benefactor,  and 
pleaded  with  him  to  restrain  his  steps,  and  engage  not 
in  a  war  which  could  do  him  no  honor. 

But  Isfendiyar  replied  that  his  word  was  pledged  to 
his  royal  father,  and  taking  a  tender  leave  of  his 
mother  and  bidding  the  king  a  formal  farewell,  he 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Persian  host,  and 
set  out  upon  the  campaign  in  which  he  had  so  little 
heart.  When  he  arrived  in  Rustem's  province,  that 
chieftain  rode  out  to  welcome  him,  and  cordially  in- 
vited him  to  accept  their  hospitality.  Isfendiyar  was 
obliged  to  refuse  the  kindly  offer  and  explain  the  un- 
pleasant nature  of  his  mission,  whereupon  Rustem 


278  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

promptly  declined  to  be  bound  and  carried  in  fetters 
to  the  Persian  king.  In  order  to  save  unnecessary 
bloodshed,  it  was  decided  to  settle  the  matter  by 
single  combat,  and  the  next  morning  Rustem  rode 
out  to  meet  his  unwilling  foe,  and  both  were  clad  in 
shining  mail. 

Rustem  sat  npon  Rakush,  while  Isfendiyar  rode  a 
night-black  charger,  swift  as  the  driving  cloud,  and  in 
his  stride  he  scattered  the  desert  stones  as  if  a  hail- 
storm reveled  around  his  master's  head.  The  chief- 
tains closed  in  the  long  and  useless  fight,  while  many 
javelins  whizzed  upon  the  air,  and  helm  and  mail  were 
bruised.  Spear  fractured  spear,  and  then  with  gleam- 
ing swords  the  strife  went  on  until  they  too  snapped 
short.  The  battle-ax  was  next  wielded  in  furious  wrath  ; 
each  bending  forward  struck  the  bewildering  blows — 
each  tried  in  vain  to  hurl  the  other  from  his  fiery 
horse.  Wearied  at  length,  they  stood  apart  to  breathe, 
their  chargers  covered  with  foam  and  blood,  and  the 
strong  armor  of  steed  and  rider  both  were  rent.  80 
severely  was  Rakush  wounded  that  Rustem  dismounted 
and  impelled  his  arrows  from  the  ground,  while  the 
gallant  horse  pursued  his  way  painfully  homeward. 

When  Zuara  saw  the  noble  animal  riderless  crossing 
the  plain  he  gasped  for  breath,  and  in  an  agony  of 
grief  he  hastened  to  the  fatal  spot,  where  he  found 
his  gallant  brother  fighting  still,  even  while  the  blood 
was  flowing  copiously  from  every  wound.  Isfendiyar 
had  escaped  with  fewer  wounds,  and  Zuara  placed 
Rustem  upon  his  own  steed  and  offered  himself  as  a 
substitute;  but  Rustem  refused,  eaying  that  to-morrow 
he  would  continue  the  fight. 


ISFEND1YAR.  279 

Isfendiyar  retired  sadly  to  his  tent  and  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  his  father,  saying:  "Thy  commands  must  be 
obeyed,  and  Heaven  only  knows  what  may  befall  to- 
morrow." When  Eastern  arrived  at  his  court  Zal  dis- 
covered that  he,  as  well  as  his  gallant  steed,  was 
terribly  wounded.  The  old  chieftain  carefully  dressed 
the  wounds  of  his  son,  and  Rustem  said  to  his  father : 
"  I  never  met  with  any  foe,  be  he  warrior  or  demon, 
with  such  amazing  strength  and  bravery  as  this.  He 
seems  to  have  a  brazen  body,  for  my  arrows,  which  I 
can  drive  through  an  anvil,  cannot  penetrate  his  chest. 
If  I  had  applied  the  strength  which  I  have  exerted  to 
a  mountain  it  would  have  been  moved  from  its  base, 
but  he  sat  firmly  in  his  saddle  and  scorned  my  efforts/' 

"  Let  us  not  despair/'  replied  the  father.  "  Did 
not  the  Simurgh  promise  her  assistance  in  the  time  of 
greatest  need."  So  saying,  Zal  took  the  precious  feather, 
which  had  been  only  slightly  burned  before,  and  going 
out  upon  the  cliff  he  burned  it  in  a  censer.  The 
darkness  grew  deeper  for  a  moment,  and  then  there 
was  the  rush  of  mighty  wings,  as  the  mountain  bird 
circled  slowly  down  out  of  the  darkness  and  stood  in 
her  rich  and  massive  beauty  beside  her  foster  child, 
now  an  old  and  retired  warrior.  Zal's  eye  lighted  up 
with  hope  and  love  as  he  gently  laid  his  hand  upon 
her  golden  plumage  and  told  her  of  his  sad  affliction. 

The  faithful  Rakush  stood  near  by  with  drooping 
head  and  bleeding  form,  and  he  first  caught  the  eye 
of  the  loving  mother-bird.  Going  to  him  she  pulled 
out  the  cruel  arrows  with  her  beak,  and  gently  passed 
the  feathers  of  her  wing  over  the  wounds ;  they  quickly 
healed,  and  the  old  war  horse  raised  his  gallant  head 


280  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

and  stamped  his  feet  impatiently  as  if  he  longed  again 
to  hear  the  trumpet  call  to  battle.  The  Simurgh  then 
went  to  Eastern  and  soothed  him  with  the  gentle  ca- 
resses of  her  head  and  beak,  and  drawing  forth  the 
hidden  darts  from  his  body  she  sucked  the  poisoned 
blood  from  out  the  gaping  wounds,  and  then  they 
closed  and  healed  ;  so  the  champion  was  soon  restored 
to  life  and  strength.  Being  thus  invigorated  under 
her  magic  care,  he  sought  her  aid  in  the  battle  of  the 
coming  day.  But  the  bird  replied  :  "  There  never 
appeared  a  more  brave  and  perfect  hero  than  Isfendi- 
yar,  for  in  his  Heft-khan  he  succeeded  in  killing  a 
Simurgh,  and  the  further  thou  art  removed  from  his 
invincible  arrow  the  greater  will  be  thy  safety." 

But  Zal  interposed,  saying:  "  If  Rustem  retires 
from  the  contest  his  family  will  be  enslaved — we  shall 
be  in  bondage  and  affliction."  Then  she  told  Rustem 
to  mount  Rakush  and  follow  her.  He  obeyed,  and  she 
led  him  far  away  across  a  broad  river,  and  on  the 
other  side  she  came  to  a  low  marsh  filled  with  reeds, 
where  the  moonlight  flashed  011  tho  whito  wings  of  the 
pelicans  and  the  night  bird  sang  his  lowest  notes  to 
the  pale  and  drooping  lilies.  Then  from  the  stems 
that  bloom  on  the  banks  of  Iran's  rivers  she  chose 
the  Kazii1  tree,  and  directed  Rustem  to  take  from  it 
a  straight  shaft  and  form  it  into  an  arrow  and  shoot 
it  into  the  eye  of  his  enemy.  "  The  arrow/'  said  she, 
"  will  make  him  blind,  and  I  would  that  it  were  only 
so,  for  he  who  spills  the  blood  of  Isfendiyar  will  never 
again  in  life  be  free  from  calamity."  Then  she  es- 

i  Pichula,  used  anciently  for  Persian  arrows.  During  the  rainy  season 
it  blooms  profusely  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  where  it  is  interwoven 
with  twining  Asclepias. — Sir  W.  Jones  in  "Botanical  Obsenations." 


ISFENDIYAR.  281 

corted  Rustem,  who  carried  the  charmed  arrow,  back 
to  his  tent,  and  caressing  his  face  with  her  beak  and 
soft  feathers  she  spread  her  golden  pinions  and  soared 
away  into  darkness. 

THE   FALL   OF  THE   WARRIORS. 

Isfendiyfir  was  amazed  to  see  Rustem  bearing  gal- 
lantly down  upon  him,  clad  in  full  armor,  and  riding 
the  self-same  steed  that  seemed  wounded  to  the  death 
the  day  before.  "  How  is  this  ?  "  he  cried. 

"  But  thy  father  Zal  is  a  sorcerer, 
And  he  by  charm  and  spell 
Has  cured  all  the  wounds  of  the  warrior, 
And  now  he  is  safe  and  well. 
For  the  wounds  I  gave  could  never  be 
Closed  up  except  by  sorcery." 

Rustem  replied,  "If  a  thousand  arrows  were  shot 
at  me  they  would  fail  to  kill,  and  in  the  end  thou 
wilt  fall  at  my  hands.  Therefore  come  at  once  and 
be  my  guest,  and  I  swear  by  the  Zend-Avesta  that  I 
will  go  with  thee,  but  unfettered,  to  thy  father." 

"That  is  not  enough,"  returned  Isfendiyar. 
"  Thou  must  be  fettered,  I  will  not  disobey  the  com- 
mands of  the  king,"  and  he  seized  his  bow  to  com- 
mence the  combat.  Rustem  did  the  same,  and  as  he 
placed  the  Simurgh's  arrow  in  the  bowstring,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  I  have  wished  for  a  reconciliation,  and  I 
would  now  give  all  my  treasures  and  wealth  to  go 
with  you  to  Iran  and  avoid  this  conflict,  but  my  of- 
fers are  disdained,  for  you  are  determined  to  con- 
sign me  to  bondage  and  disgrace." 


282  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

An  arrow  from  Isfendiyar  came  quickly  against  his 
armor,  but  by  turning  himself  he  eluded  its  point, 
and  in  return  he  quickly  lodged  the  Simurgh's  arrow 
in  the  eyes  of  his  antagonist. 

"  And  darkness  overspread  his  sight, 
The  world  to  him  was  hid  in  night, 
The  bow  dropped  from  his  slackened  hand, 
And  down  he  sunk  upon  the  ground." 

Bahman,  the  son  of  Isfendiyar,  seeing  his  father 
fall,  uttered  loud  lamentations,  and  all  the  Persian 
troops  drew  near  in  sorrow  and  mourning,  The 
stricken  man  was  carried  to  his  tent,  and  the  next 
day  both  Zal  and  Bustem  came  to  offer  their  sym- 
pathy and  condolence. 

The  wounded  prince  replied,  "  I  do  not  ascribe 
my  misfortunes  to  thee;  fate  would  have  it  so,  and 
thus  it  is.  But  I  consign  my  son  Bahman  to  thy 
care  and  guardianship  ;  instruct  him  in  the  science 
of  government,  the  custom  of  kings,  and  the  rules  of 
the  warrior,  for  thou  art  perfect  in  all  things."  Bus- 
tem readily  promised,  saying  that  it  should  be  his 
duty  to  see  that  the  young  prince  was  firmly  seated 
upon  the  throne  of  his  fathers. 

Then  Isfendiyar  sent  a  message  to  his  father,  and 
with  a  few  tender,  loving  words  for  his  mother,  he 
lay  back  and  died.  Then  Bustem  returned  home,  car- 
rying with  him  as  a  sacred  trust  the  son  of  the  slain 
prince,  who  was  carefully  instructed  in  all  the  arts  of 
war  and  the  accomplishments  of  peace,  and  finally 
placed  upon  the  throne  that  should  have  been  his 
father's. 


ISFENDIYAR.  283 

But  the  blood  of  the  gallant  Isfendiyar  carried 
with  it  a  curse,  as  the  Simurgh  had  said,  aiid  Rus- 
tem  himself  fell  a  victim  to  the  treachery  of  his  half- 
brother.  He  and  his  gallant  horse  fell  together  in  a 
pit  which  had  been  prepared  for  them  while  on  a 
hunting  excursion,  and  although  Rakush  bounded  gal- 
lantly out  of  the  first,  it  was  only  to  fall  into  an- 
other, and  they  struggled  on,  until  mounting  up  the 
edge  of  the  seventh  pit,  and  covered  with  deep  wounds, 
both  horse  and  rider  lay  exhausted.  With  one  su- 
preme effort,  Rustem  sent  an  arrow  through  the  man 
who  had  betrayed  him,  and  then  Persia's  gallant  son 
was  dead,  and  not  a  kingly  follower  remained.  Zuara 
and  other  followers  had  fallen  and  perished  in  other 
pits  dug  by  the  traitor  king  and  traitor  brother.  All 
were  lost  save  one,  who  escaped  and  carried  the  sad 
tidings  to  Sistan,  where  Zal  in  agony  tore  his  white 
hair  and  cried,  "  Why  did  I  not  die  for  him,  why 
was  I  not  present  fighting  by  his  side  ?"  And  never 
again  did  the  land  of  Iran  bear  a  chieftain  like  the 
gallant  Rustem  slain. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

SECOND  PERIOD. 

ANWARI — NIZAMl — LAILI  AND  MAJNUN— A  FRIEND— 
THE  WEDDING — DELIVERANCE  —  THE  MEETING  IN 
THE  DESERT  —  DEATH  OF  THE  LOVERS  —  THE  VISION 
OF  ZYD. 

THE  second  period  of  Persian  poetry  reaches  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century, 
and  it  may  be  termed  the  panegyric  age,  from  the  fact 
that  the  poets  of  this  period,  nearly  all  of  them,  de- 
voted their  talents  indiscriminately  to  the  laudation 
of  the  princes  of  their  times.  But  we  find  also  in 
this  age,  the  beginning  of  the  mystic  school  which 
was  so  fully  developed  in  the  thirteenth  century.  It 
was  during  this  period  that  Amig  of  Bukhara  com- 
posed the  Egyptian  story  of  Yusuf  and  Zulaikha, 
which  was  the  original  of  many  poetic  versions.  A 
few  good  satires  also  belong  to  the  twelfth  century, 
but  the  greatest  panegyric  poet  of  this  period  was 

ANWARI. 

There  is  but  little  known  of  this  Poet  Laureate 
of  Persia ;  he  appears  to  have  been  born,  however,  in 
the  twelfth  century  at  Bedeneh,  a  village  in  Khora- 
san.  He  was  a  poor  student  in  the  town  of  Tus,  and 
near  the  college  grounds  one  day,  he  happened  to 
see  the  grand  equipage  of  the  Sultan,  and  observing 


SECOND    PERIOD.  285 

that  one  member  of  hie  suite  was  mounted  upon  a 
more  magnificent  horse,  and  was  more  gorgeously 
equipped  than  the  others,  he  inquired  who  he  was. 
On  being  told  that  he  was  the  court  poet,  the  ambi- 
tious student  aspired  to  the  same  position,  and  that 
very  night  he  prepared  a  poem  in  praise  of  the  Sul- 
tan, which  was  presented  at  court  the  next  day.  The 
royal  vanity  was  so  greatly  pleased  by  this"  offering, 
that  the  young  poet  was  offered  a  position  at  court, 
which  he  promptly  accepted.  lie  attended  the  Sul- 
tan in  all  of  his  warlike  expeditions  until  his  death.1 
He  wrote  a  few  long  poems,  and  also  some  simple 
lyrics  that  were  worthy  of  preservation,  but  perhaps 
the  best  of  these  productions  was  "  The  Tears  of 
Khorasan."  Khorasim  was  overrun  by  a  barbarous 
tribe  of  Turkomans,  who  committed  every  species  of 
cruelty,  and  this  poem  was  a  plea  to  the  Prince  of 
Samarcand  for  relief.  The  following  extract,  which  is 
the  opening  stanza  of  his  petition,  will  give  a  suffi- 
cient idea  of  his  style  : 

"Waft,  gentle  gale,  Oh,   waft  to  Samarcand, 
When  next  thou   visitest  that  blissful  land, 
The  plaint  of  Khorosania  plunged  in  woe 
Bear  to  Tiirania's  king  our  piteous  scroll 
Whose  opening    breathes    forth    all    the  anguished 

soul 
And  this  denotes  whate'er  the  tortured  know." 

NIZAMl. 

The  greatest  poet  of  this  period,  however,  was  Xiza- 
mi,2  whose  pathetic  love  songs  are  the  best  productions 

1  About  A.  D.  im  2  Born  A.  D.  1141,  and  died  A.  D.  1-303. 


280  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

of  the  kind  in  the  Persian  tongue.  He  lived  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  at  Gauja,  and  is  therefore 
known  as  Nizfiml  of  Ganja.  His  first  important  work 
was  called  "The  Storehouse  of  Mysteries."  This  was 
followed  by  the  beautiful  poem  of  "Koshru  and 
Shiiin,"  the  theme  of  which  was  taken  from  ancient 
Persian  history.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth 
century  he  wrote  his  Diwan,  a  collection  which  was 
said  to  contain  twenty  thousand  verses,  but  few  of 
these,  however,  have  come  down  to  our  own  times. 
Soon  afterward  the  great  poet  wrote  his  famous  love 
story  entitled  "  Laili  and  Majnun,"  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  Book  of  Alexander,  an  epic  which  was 
devoted  to  the  glory  of  the  Greek  conqueror.  His 
last  work  was  the  "  Seven  Fair  Faces,"  and  this  was 
presented  in  the  form  of  romantic  fiction,  and  con- 
sisted merely  of  seven  stories  which  were  told  to 
amuse  the  king  by  the  seven  wives  of  Bahram  Gor. 
These  five  works  are  known  as  the  "  Five  Treasures 
of  Nizaml."  His  eulogies  were  sung  by  the  greatest 
Persian  poets  who  lived  after  him. 

It  was  of  him  that  Sa'di  wrote  :  "  Gone  is  Nizaml, 
our  exquisite  pearl,  which  Heaven  in  its  kindness, 
formed  of  the  purest  dew,  as  the  gem  of  the  world." 

His  most  popular  work,  and  one  of  the  best  of  the 
Persian  classics,  is  the  poem  of  Laili  and  Majnun, 
which,  for  tenderness,  purity  and  pathos,  has  been  sel- 
d(om  equaled.  AVe  give  here  a  short  prose  version  of  the 
legend : 

LAILl   AND   MAJNUN. 

Every  nation  has  its  favorite  romance  of  love  and 
chivalry.  France  and  Italy  have  their  Abelard  and 


SECOND   PERIOD.  287 

Eloisa,  their  Petrarch  and  Laura,  while  Arabia  and 
Persia  have  their  Laill  and  Majnun,  the  record  of 
whose  sorrows  is  constantly  referred  to  throughout  the 
East  as  an  example  of  the  most  devoted  affection. 
This  story,  which  has  been  versified  by  several  Persian 
authors,  is  of  Arabian  origin,  and  hence  it  bears  the 
impress  of  Arabic  thought. 

The  poem  contains  the  mystic  lights  and  shadows 
of  Bedawm  life — the  fervid  loves  and  passionate  yearn- 
ings, the  hopeless  grief  and  stoical  endurance,  which 
belong  to  the  sons  of  the  desert. 

Majnun  was  the  son  of  a  haughty  chief,  while  Laill 
belonged  to  an  humble  Arab  tribe,  but  her  father  car- 
ried in  his  veins  the  pride  of  his  desert  race,  and  the 
bitter  hatreds  of  the  Moslems.  Laill  is  described  as 
being  very  beautiful,  with  the  crimson  of  her  cheek 
flashing  through  the  dark  olive  shades  of  her  face,  and 
her  heavy  ringlets,  "  black  as  night,"  hanging  in  grace- 
ful profusion  around  her  shapely  neck. 

"When  ringlets  of  a  thousand  cuils 
And  ruby  lips  and  teeth  of  pearls, 
And  dark  eyes  flashing  quick  and  bright, 
Like  lightning  on  the  brow  of  night — 
When  charms  like  these  their  power  display 
And  steal  the  wildered  heart  away — 
Can  man,  dissembling,  coldly  seem 
Unmoved  as  by  an  idle  dream  ? 
Kais1  saw  her  beauty,  and  her  grace 
The  soft  expression  of  her  face  ; 

i  Kais  was  the  proper  name  of  the  lover,  but  he  received  the  cogromen  of 
Majnun  on  account  of  his  madness. 


288  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

And  as  he  gazed  and  gazed  again 
Distraction  stung  his  burning  brain ; 
No  rest  he  found  by  day  or  night — 
She  was  forever  in  his  sight." 

But  the  wandering  tribe  to  which  the  girl  belonged 
folded  their  tents  and  slipped  away  to  the  solitudes 
of  the  mountains.  They  had  left  no  trace  of  their 
going — no  hint  of  where  they  might  be  found,  and  the 
luckless  maid  found  herself  far  from  her  lover  with  no 
possible  means  of  communicating  with  him,  while  the 
frantic  boy  was  wandering  through  the  wilds  in  the 
almost  hopeless  search  for  his  love. 

"  He  sought  her  in  rosy  bower  and  silent  glade, 
Where  the  palm  trees  flung  refreshing  shade ; 
Through  grove  and  frowning  glen  he  lonely  strayed, 
And  with  his  griefs  the  rocks  were  vocal  made."1 
Alarmed  by  the  condition  of  his  son,  the  old  chief- 
tain gathered  his  men  for  an  organized  search,  and   at 
last  they  found  the  mountain  stronghold  of   the  tribe 
they  sought. 

They  were  challenged  by  a  stern  voice  beyond  the 
rocky  barriers,  which  demanded: 

"Come  ye  hither  as  friends  or  foes? 
Whatever  may  your  errand  be, 
That  errand  must  be  told  to  me; 
For  none,  unless  a  sanctioned  friend, 
Can  pass  the  line  that  I  defend." 

This  challenge  touched  the  chieftain's  pride,  and  he 
haughtily  responded  that  he  came  in  friendship,  to 

i  Except  the  desert  scene",  the  poetical  extracts  in  this  chapter  are  from 
Atkinson's  translation. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  289 

propose  the  marriage  of  his  son  to  the  Arab  maiden  to 

whom  he  had  taken  a  silly  fancy. 

"With  shame, 

Possessed  of  power,  and  wealth,  and  fame, 
I  to  his   silly   humor  bend, 
And  humbly  seek  his  fate  to  blend 
With  one  inferior.     Need  I  tell 
My  own  high  lineage  known   so  well  ? 
If  sympathy  my  heart  incline, 
Or  vengeance,  still  the  means  are  mine. 
Treasure  and  arms  can  amply  bear 
Me  through  the  toils  of  desert  war  ; 
But  thou'rt  the  merchant  pedler  chief, 
And  I  the  buyer;  come,  sell,  be  brief ! 
If  thou  art  wise,  accept  advice  ; 
Sell  and  receive  a  princely  price  ! " 

The  haughty  tone  of  the  applicant  was  little  cal- 
culated to  call  forth  a  favorable  response,  and  the 
proud  father  replied  : 

"  Madness  is  neither  sin  nor  crime,  we  know, 
But  who'd  be  linked  to  madness  or  a  foe  ? 
Thy  son  is  mad — his  senses  first  restore; 
In  constant  prayer  the  aid  of  heaven  implore. 
But  while  portentous  gloom  pervades  his  brain 
Disturb  me  not  with  this  vain  suit  again.     . 
The  jewel  sense  no  purchaser  can  buy, 
Nor  treachery  the  place  of  sense  supply. 
Thou  hast  my  reasons,  and  this  parley  o'er, 
Keep  them  in  mind  and  trouble  me  no  more.  ' 
The  scorn  of  the  father's  reply    had  been,  if  possi- 
ble, more  bitter  than    the    insulting  demand,  and  Syd 


290  PERSIAN   LITERATURK. 

Omri   turned   indignantly    to  his  followers  and  ordered 
the  homeward  march.     The  desert  fates  were  stern,  and 

"  When  Majnun  saw  his  hopes  decay, 
Their  fairest   blossoms  fade  away, 
And  friends  and  sire  who  might  have  been 
Kind  intercessors,  rush  between 
Him  and  the  only  wish  that  shed 
One  ray  of  comfort  round  his  head, 
He  beat  his  hands,  his  garments  tore, 
He  cast   his  fetters  on  the  floor 
In  broken  fragments,  and  in  wrath 
Sought  the  dark  wilderness's  path, 
And  there  he  wept  and  sobbed  aloud, 
Unnoticed  by  the  gazing  crowd." 

The  kinsmen  of  Laill  brought  to  the  encampment 
the  news  that  a  youth,  insane  and  wild,  was  haunting 
the  desert  wastes  below  the  mountain,  and  the  fair 
Laill  blushed  when  she  heard  the  tidings,  but  dared 
not  venture  forth  to  meet  her  maniac  lover.  The 
Arab  chief  swore  vengeance  against  the  hapless  youth, 
and  ordered  his  followers  to  slay  him  in  the  desert. 
The  father  of  Majnun  heard  of  the  cruel  decree  and 
sent  his  own  followers  into  the  wilderness  to  rescue 
his  son.  .  .  Again  and  again  he  was  carried  to  his 
father's  home,  and  as  frequently  he  made  his  escape, 
always  wandering,  with  unerring  instinct,  near  to  his 
beloved. 

"Laili  in  beauty,  softness,  grace, 
Surpassed  the  loveliest  of  her  race. 
The  killing  witchery  that  lies 
In  her  soft,  black,  delicious  eyes — 


SECOND    PERIOD.  291 

Her  lashes  speak  a  thousand  blisses 
Her  lips  of  ruby  ask  for  kisses; 
Her  cheeks,  so  beautiful  and  bright, 
Have  caught  the  moon's  refulgent  light ; 
Her  form  the  Cypress  tree  expresses, 
And  full  and  plump,  invites  caresses. 
With  all  these  charms,  the  heart  to  win, 
There  was  a  ceaseless  grief  within, — 
Yet  none  beheld  her  grief,  or  heard, 
She  droop'd  like  broken- winged  bird. 
Her  secret  thoughts,  her  love  concealing, 
But  softly  to  the  terrace  stealing 
From  morn  to  eve,  she  gazed  around 
In  hopes  her  Majnun  might  be  found." 

An  oasis  with  its  cooling  streams  was  near  the 
rocky  fortress  of  the  Bedawin  encampment,  and  here 
the  tall  palms  seemed  to  lean  against  the  sky,  while 
£he  doves  cooed  in  the  thickets  of  foliage.  Here  the 
gentle  Laili  came  day  after  day,  hoping  that  her  lover 
might  venture  near.  She  gathered  the  lilies  that 
bloomed  around  her  feet,  as  she  wandered  through  the 
fragrant  grove,  but  her  dark  eyes  were  heavy  with 
unshed  tears,  when  she  reclined  beneath  a  mournful 
cypress  tree  and  softly  chanted  her  song  of  faithful- 
ness : 

"  Oh,   faithful  friend  and  lover  true, 

Still  distant  from   thy  Laill's   view  ; 

Still  absent,  still  beyond  her  power, 

To  bring  thee  to  her  fragrant  bower ; 

Oh  noble  youth  !  still  thou  art  mine, 

And  Laili,  Laili  still  is  thine." 


292  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

As  she  pensively  sat  one  day  beneath  the  cypress 
tree,  a  youth  of  kingly  mien  passed  that  way.  His 
eyes  rested  a  moment  upon  her  crimson  lips,  and  the 
flowing  tresses  which  were  dark  as  the  plume  of  a 
raven's  wing — he  saw  too  the  full  form  with  its 
shapely  curves  and  the  beaming  softness  of  the  dark 
eyes,  with  their  heavy  lashes.  Ibn  Salam  was  the 
honored  name  of  this  young  prince,  who  with  his 
suite  had  sought  for  a  moment  the  cooling  shades  of 
the  palm-tree  grove,  and  he  it  was  who  hastened  to 
her  father  with  a  plea  for  his  daughter's  hand.  Daz- 
zled by  the  gold  and  position  of  the  suitor,  the  father 
of  Laili  gave  a  cordial  consent  to  the  proposed  union. 

A    FRIEND. 

T^he  chief  of  the  domain  where  Majnun  wandered  in 
his  pitiful  loneliness,  looked  with  compassion  upon 
him,  for  one  day,  while  in  pursuit  of  a  bounding  deer, 
he  saw  the  wasted  frame  and  wild  look  of  the  de- 
spairing lover.  Dismounting  from  his  splendid  steed, 
Noufal,  the  Arab  chief,  came  kindly  to  him  and  lis- 
tened to  the  story  so  constantly  told  of  love  and  suf- 
fering. With  kindly  words  the  chieftain  soothed 
the  restless  spirit,  and  gently  drawing  the  tortured 
mind  away  from  its  painful  thought  he  offered  nour- 
ishment to  the  sinking  body.  A  change  for  the  bet- 
ter came  over  him,  and  he  took  the  proffered  cup 
and  drank,  although  he  drank  to  Laili's  name.  Re- 
freshed by  NoufaFs  kindly  ministry  and  drawn  by 
gentle  urging,  Majnun  went  with  his  new  friend  to 
his  home,  and  there  received  the  best  of  care  and 
hopeful  cheer. 


SECOND   PERIOD.  293 

"  An  altered  man,  his  mind  at  rest, 
In  customary  robes  he  dressed ; 
A  turban  shades  his  forehead  pale, 
No  more  is  heard  the  lover's  wail, 
His  dungeon  gloom  exchanged  for  day, 
His  cheeks  a  rosy  tint  display ; 
He  revels  midst  the  garden  sweets, 
And  still  his  lip  the  goblet  meets ; 
But  so  intense  his  constant  flame 
Each  cup  is  quaffed  in  Laill's  name." 

The  generous  Nonfal  was  not  content  with  the 
change  so  nearly  wrought,  but  he  gathered  his  bravest 
men  in  battle  array,  and  marched  at  their  head  to  the 
mountain  fortress  of  the  Bedawin  encampment.  The 
troops  of  Arabian  horsemen  were  halted  and  sword 
and  helmet  glittered  in  the  sun,  while  Noufal  sent  his 
messenger  forward  with  a  demand  for  the  hand'  of  the 
coveted  bride.  His  request  was  haughtily  refused,  and 
when  ihe  messenger  was  again  sent  forward  with  a 
threat  of  revenge  if  his  wishes  were  not  complied 
with,  his  power  and  vengeance  were  alike  defied. 
Then  the  word  of  command  rang  along  the  glittering 
lines.  There  was  a  rattling  of  helmets  and  spears,  a 
twanging  of  the  bowstring  and  a  gallant  charge  was 
made  upon  the  foe  that  was  so  well  entrenched  in  the 
mountain  fastnesses.  Amidst  the  clangor  of  brazen 
drums  and  trumpets,  the  fearful  fight  went  on  and 

"  Arrows,  like  birds,  on  either  foeman  stood, 
Drinking  with  open  beak  the  vital  flood  ; 
The  shining  daggers  in  the  battle's  heat 
Boiled  many  a  head  beneath  the  horse's  feet ; 


294  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

And  lightnings  hurled  by  death's  unsparing  hand 
Spread  consternation  through  the  weeping  land." 

There  was  no  pause  in  the  sound  of  the  trumpets, 
no  stay  in  the  wild  flight  of  the  arrows,  as  the  dread- 
ful work  went  on,  and  the  dripping  swords  were 
bathed  with  the  crimson  tide  of  shame. 

The  shades  of  night  came  down  ere  the  fate  of 
the  battle  was  decided,  but  the  assaulting  party  had 
suffered  most,  and  in  another  hour  of  conflict  the 
friends  of  Majnun  had  been  undone.  With  the  com- 
ing of  the  morning  light  the  assault  was  renewed,  and 
the  desert  rang  again  with  the  sounds  of  war ;  all 
along  the  long  line  glittered  the  sword  and  buckler, 
the  helmet  and  spear  ;  swords  clashed  and  the  desert 
sands  were  wet  again  with  the  blood  of  the  fallen.  At 
last  the  tribe  of  Laili's  sire  gave  way,  and  Noufal  won 
the  bitter  fight,  though  many  of  his  bravest  men 
lay  bleeding  on  the  burning  sand. 

"  And  now  the  elders  of  that  tribe  appear, 
And  thus  implore  the  victor.     Chieftain,  hear ! 
The  work  of  slaughter  is  complete ; 
Thou  seest  our  power  destroyed  ;  allow 
Us  wretched  suppliants  at  thy  feet 
To  humbly  ask  for  mercy  now. 
How  many  warriors  press  the  plain  ? 
Khanjer  and  spear  have  laid  them  low; 
At  peace,  behold  our  kinsman  slain, 
For  thou  art  now  without  a  foe. 

Then  pardon  what  of  wrong  has  been; 
Let  us  retire  unharmed — unstay'd — 


SECOND    PERIOD.  295 

Far  from  this  sanguinary  scene, 
And  take  thy  prize — the  Arab  maid." 
The  aged  father  came  forth    with    dust    and   ashes 
upon  his  hoary  head,  and  admitted  that  his  tribe  was 
fully  conquered,   and  offered  the    life  of  his  daughter 
for   a   peace  offering,    while  still  refusing  to  allow  her 
to  wed  with  a  maniac. 

"  My  daughter  shall  be  brought  at  thy  command ; 
The  red  flames  may  ascend  from  blazing  brand 
And  slay  their  victim,  crackling  in  the  air, 
And  LaiH  dubiously  shall  perish  there. 
Or,  if  thou'dst  rather  see  the  maiden  bleed, 
This  thirsty  sword  shall -do  the  dreadful  deed; 
Dissever  at  one  blow  that  lovely  head, 
Her  sinless  blood  by  her  own  father  shed  ! 
In  all  things  thou  shalt  find  me  faithful,    true, 
Thy  slave  I  am — what  would'st   thou  have  me  do? 
But  mark  me ;  I  am  not  to  be  beguiled  ; 
I  will  not  to  a  demon  give  my  child  ; 
I  will  not  to  a  madman's  wild  embrace 
Consign  the  pride  and  honor  of  my  race, 
And  wed  her  to  contempt  and  foul  disgrace." 
The   chivalry    of   the   desert  disdained   to  tear  the 
child  from  her  father's  arms,  even  though  that  father 
was  a  conquered  foe.    The  gallant  Noufal,  feeling  that 
he   was  himself  defeated,    and   that  in  vain  the  blood 
of  his  brave  men  had    stained  the  desert  sands,   sadly 
gave  the  order  that  the  conquered  tribe  should   be  al- 
lowed to  retire  unmolested  from  the  well  fought  field. 
"  And  thou  and  thine  may  quit  the  field. 
Still  armed  with  khanjer,  sword  and  shield; 


296  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Both  horse  and  rider.     Thus  in   vain 
Blood  has  bedewed  this  thirsty  plain." 
With  a  heavy  heart  the  gallant    chief  pursued   his 
homeward  way  with  Majnun,  reckless    and   desperate, 
by    his    side.     He  tried    again  to    calm    the    poignant 
pangs    of    hopeless  love,  and   to  bless,  with    gentleness 
and  tender  care,  the  wounded  and  despairing  spirit. 
"  But  vain  his  efforts  ;  mountain,    wood  and  plain 
Soon  heard  the   maniac's  piercing  woes  again ; 
Escaped  from  listening  ear  and  watchful  eye, 
Lonely  again,  in  desert  wild  to  lie." 
In  another  part  of  the  wild  domain  a  cloud  of  dust 
on  the  horizon  of  the  desert  tells  of  the  coming  of  a 
troop    of    horsemen,  and   soon    a  wearied  and  broken 
column  is  seen  beneath  the  clouds  of  sand  which  ob- 
scure   the  blue    of  heaven.     The  women   of  the  con- 
quered tribe,   who    had    been   placed  in  safer  quarters, 
come    forth  to  meet   the  returning    warriors.     As  the 
trampling    steeds    come  nearer    they  hear   the  leader's 
angry  word,  as  he  breathes  his  curses,  loud  and  deep, 
upon  the  victor  in  the  fight,    for  he  scarcely  cares  to 
survive  the  blow  while  burning  with  the  disgrace    of 
defeat.     Poor    Laill    listens    sadly  to  the  story  of  her 
fate,    but  no  hope   of  aid  can  enter  her  crushed   and 
broken  heart.     And    still    the  story    of    her  beauty  is 
borne  on  every  gale,   and   the   neighboring  tribes    are 
wondering  for  whom  her  father    is    keeping  the   beau- 
teous gem. 

THE   WEDDING. 

At  last,  the  lover  comes  with  his  magnificent  offer- 
ings of  embroidered  robes,    and  carpets    worked    with 


SECOND    PERIOD.  297 

silk  and  gold;  the  rarest  gems  were  brought  to  lay 
at  her  feet,  and  a  long  line  of  camels,  with  their 
tinkling  bells,  were  laden  with  costly  presents  for  the 
bride  of  Ibn  Salam. 

Beautiful  steeds  were  proudly  stepping  to  the  low 
music  of  his  march,  for  a  long  line  of  the  purest 
Arabian  blood  was  coursing  in  their  veins.  But  while 
the  nuptial  pomp  and  nuptial  rites  engaged  the  chief- 
tain's household,  and  every  square  was  ringing  with 
the  rattle  of  drums  and  the  voice  of  pipe  and  cymbal, 
the  stricken  bride  was  sitting  sad  and  lone  in  her 
retreat,  mourning  for  her  betrothed,  and  pleading  that 
she  might  be  allowed  to  die  rather  than  to  wed  the 
man  that  she  could  never  love.  The  joyous  bridegroom 
came  with  gorgeous  litter  and  golden  throne  for  the 
chosen  bride  to  occupy.  He  came  in  richest  garb, 
with  happy  smiles  and  costly  jewels,  into  the  presence 
of  his  promised  bride,  but  the  Arabian  maiden  turned 
with  flashing  eyes  upon  the  intruder,  and  informed 
him  that  the  betrothal  had  been  made  by  her  father 
without  consulting  her.  She  declared  she  would  rather 
die  than  become  a  wife  unloving,  for  in  her  heart 
she  could  find  only  hatred  for  the  man  who  was  will- 
ing to  claim  her  under  circumstances  so  revolting,  and 
then  with  the  air  of  a  queen  she  ordered  him  to  leave 
her  alone.  When  Ibn  Salam  heard  her  frenzied  words, 
he  turned  away  from  the  indignant  girl  and  poured 
his  woes  into  her  father's  ear.  The  pitiful  pleadings 
of  the  girl  were  unheeded,  and  the  fearful  mockery  of 
marriage  went  on  amidst  the  glare  of  trumpets  and 
sounding  drum, —  went  on,  witli  jewels  and  costly  gifts 
for  the  unwilling  bride,  and  all  the  outward  show  of 


298  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

happiness  and  joy.  But  though  Laill's  plighted  faith 
to  Majnun  seemed  so  sorely  broken,  she  still  cherished 
his  memory  with  tenderest  thought,  and 

"  Deep  in  her  heart  a  thousand  woes 
Disturbed  her  days'  and  nights'  repose 
A  serpent   at   its   very  core 
Writhing  and  gnawing  evermore  ; 
And  no  relief — a   prison   room 
Being  now  the  lonely  sufferer's  doom." 

Amidst  all  the  heartaches  of  humanity  the  slow 
movement  of  sun  and  stars  still  goes  on,  and  the 
bare  horizon  of  the  desert  is  illumined  by  the  lamps 
of  heaven.  Night  with  her  coolness  and  dews,  comes 
down  upon  the  burning  sands  with  the  restful  touch 
of  peace.  Her  primeval  fountains  of  light  have  gath- 
ered for  all  time  around  the  desert  steppes,  watching 
their  silent  mysteries,  and  touching  with  glory  the 
far-away  crowns  of  their  palms. 

Laili  sat  in  her  prison  tower,  looking  out  upon  tb.3 
peaceful  beauty  of  the  night,  and  its  soft  repose 
crept  into  her  troubled  neart,  bringing  with  it  a  mes- 
sage of  hope.  For  days  and  years  she  had  lived  with- 
in that  guarded  tower,  shut  like  a  gem  within  its 
stony  bed,  surrounded  by  the  dragon  watch  which 
her  husband  still  supplied.  But  hark !  there  is  au 
unusual  sound  beneath  her  casement ;  there  are  flick- 
ering lamps  and  wailing  cries ;  confused  voices  are 
bearing  messages  to  and  fro ;  there  is  a  death-note  in 
the  wild  chant  which  is  ringing  out  upon  the  night. 

"  Beneath  her  casement  rings  a  wild  lament, 
Death-notes  disturb  the  night :  the  air  is  rent 


SECOND   PERIOD.  299 

With  clamorous   voices ;  every  hope  is  fled, 
He  breathes  no  longer — Ibn  Sal  am  is  dead  I 
The  fever's  rage  had  nipp'd  him  in  his  bloom  ; 
He  sank  unloved,  unpitied,  to  the  tomb." 

Laill  looked  up  to  the  face  of  the  moon,  and 
thought  of  its  chilling  rays  that  fell  upon  the  hag- 
gard form  of  her  desert  love.  She  gazed  upon  the 
flashing  star  that  stood  like  a  guardian  above  his 
restless  sleep,  and  then  she  turned  to  receive  the  mes- 
sengers who  brought  the  formal  tale  that  her  jailor 
now  was  dead.  And  must  she  mourn  for  the  man 
she  loathed?  Ah,  yes;  the  Arab  law  must  be  obeyed, 
and  she  must  assume  the  garments  of  woe !  It  was 
easy  for  her  to  weep, 

"But  all   the  burning  tears  she  shed 
Were  for  Majnun,  not  the  dead." 

The  days  went  by  with  -weary  feet,  and  the  night 
still  looked  upon  a  lonely  heart,  for  the  Arab  law 
maintained  that  years  must  pass  before  one  breath  of 
freedom  could  be  given  to  the  woman  in  the  rock- 
bound  tower.  But  Laill  arose  one  morn  with  a  new 
light  in  her  dark  eyes,  and  called  her  faithful  Zyd, 
the  boy  who  had  long  served  his  gentle  lady,  and  to 
whom  her  word  was  the  law  supreme.  To  him  she 
said  : 

"  To-day  is  not  the  day  of  hope, 

Which  only  gives  to  fancy  scope; 

Ft  is  the  day  our  hopes  completing, 

It  is  the  lover's  day  of  meeting  ! 

Rise  up  !  the  world  is  full  of  joy ; 

Rise  up  !  and  serve  thy  mistress,  boy ; 


300  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

Together,  where  the  cypress  grows, 
Place  the  red  tulip   and   the  rose  ; 
And  let   tfie  long  dissever'd  meet — 
Two  lovers,   in  communion   sweet." 

THE   MEETING   IN   THE   DESERT. 

Then  with  her  faithful  attendant  she  went  cau- 
tiously forth,  and  together  they  threaded  their  way 
over  the  desolate  sand  and  through  the  grove  of 
palms  ;  but  she  stayed  not  to  gather  the  lilies  bloom- 
ing around  her  feet — she  waited  not  to  catch  the 
breath  of  the  roses,  or  to  drink  of  the  tiny  stream, 
whose  lite-giving  waves  had  made  this  little  oasis  to 
bloom  like  a  garden  in  the  midst  of  the  desert.  But 
she  hastened  on  her  way,  and  the  boy  ran  by  her 
side  wondering  why  she  sped  so  quickly  through  the 
grove.  On,  beyond  its  cooling  shade  and  over  the 
barren  steepes,  she  pressed  with  unfaltering  feet  un- 
til she  saw  the  haggard  form  of  her  lover  ;  then  she 
stepped  gently  to  his  side  and  laid  her  hand  upon 
his  arm.  "Ah  !  Majnun,  it  is  thy  Laili  that  has 
come ; "  his  mind  awoke  with  one  glad  cry,  for  the 
familiar  voice  with  its  caressing  tones  rang  with  the 
notes  of  peace  and  joy  through  the  darkened  cham- 
bers of  his  brain.  For  one  glad  moment  he  held 
her  in  his  arms,  and  then,  overcome  with  emotion, 
he  fainted  at  her  feet.  She  quickly  knelt  beside  him, 
and  then 

"  His  head  which  in   the  dust  was  laid 
Upon  her  lap  she  drew,   and   dried 
His  tears   with   tender  hand   and   pressed 
Him  close  and  closer  to  her  breast  ; 


SECOND   PERIOD.  301 

'Be  here  thy  home  beloved,  adored, 
Revive,  be  blest — oh  !  Laili's  lord/ 
At  last  he  breathed,  around  he  gazed, 
As  from  her  arms  his  head  he  raised — 
'  Art  thou,'  he  faintly  said,   '  a  friend 
Who  takes  me  to  her  gentle  breast — 
Dost  thou  in  truth  so  fondly  bend 
Thine  eyes  upon  a  wretch  distressed  ? 
Are  these  thy  unveiled   cheeks  I  see 
Can  bliss  be  yet  in  store  for  me  ? 
I  thought  it  all  a  dream,   so  oft 
Such  dreams  come  in  my  madness  now. 
Is  this  thy  hand  so  fair  and  soft  ? 
Is  this  in  sooth  my  Laili's  brow  ? 

In  sleep  these  transports  I  may  share 

But  when  I  wake  'tis  all  despair ! 

Let  me  gaze  on  thee — e'en  though  it  be 

An  empty  shade  alone  I  see  ; 

How  shall  I  bear  what  once  I  bore 

When  thou  shalt  vanish  as  before?'" 
Then  the  beauteous  vision  rested  within  his  arms, 
with  her  dark  ringlets  flowing  around  her  smooth 
neck,  and  the  sweet  confession  of  her  love  beaming 
in  her  tremulous  eyes.  He  saw  her  chin  of  dimpled 
sweetness,  and  the  soft  cheek  with  its  crimson  flush, 
then  her  matchless  voice  came  again  to  his  ears  with 
its  message  of  tenderness. 

"  To  hope,  dear  wanderer,  revive  ; 

Lo  Zemzems,1  cool  and  bright, 

'  Zemzem  is  the  sacred  well  enclosed  by  the  temple  at  Mecca,  and  even  a 
stone  dipped  in  its  waters  is  thought  to  possess  marvelous  virtues. 


'302  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Flow  at  thy  feet— then  drink  and  live 
Seared  heart  !  be  glad  for  bounteous  heaven 
At  length  our  recompense  hath  given, 
Beloved  one,  tell  me  all  thy    will 
And  know  thy  Laili  faithful  still. 

Here  in  this  desert,  join  our  hands, 
Our  souls  were  joined  long,  long  before  ; 
And  if  our  fate  such  doom  demands, 
Together  wander  evermore. 
Oh  Kais !  never  let  us  part, 
What  is  the  world  to  thee  and  me  ? 
My  universe  is  where  thou  art 
And  is  not  Laili  all  to  thee  ? " 

The  tempted  lover  listened,  with  his  soul  in  his 
longing  eyes,  but  he  knew  that  he  could  not  make  her 
his  wife  according  to  the  Arab  law — they  could  not 
be  legally  wedded,  and  his  love  for  her  was  too  pure 
and  unselfish  to  accept  the  sacrifice  that  she  pro- 
posed to  make.  To  him,  then,  was  given  the  hardest 
task  ever  given  into  lover's  hands — that  of  saving  the 
woman  that  he  worshipped  from  his  own  embrace. 
After  the  years  of  suffering  that  had  been  his,  could 
he  push  the  tempting  cup  from  his  thirsting  lip  ? 
Was  the  weakened  frame  strong  enough  to  carry  out 
the  dictates  of  his  will  ?  Nay,  did  God  require  such 
a  sacrifice  after  all  these  years  of  loyalty  and  truth  ? 
Were  they  not  already  wedded  in  his  pure  sight  ? 
Had  she  not  always  been  his  own  in  the  eyes  of 
heaven  ?  These  questions  surged  through  his  throbbing 
brain  as  he  held  the  woman  he  loved  in  his  close  em- 
brace. One  sweet  taste  of  heaven,  surely  the  Lord 


SECOND    PERIOD.  303 

had  given,  in  the  desert  of  his  wasted  life — one  mo- 
ment of  bliss  wherein  he  might  taste  the  lips  he  had 
hungered  for,  so  long.  But  should  he  therefore  out- 
rage his  own  conscience,  and  sacrifice  the  woman  he 
loved,  for  the  temporary  enjoyment  of  the  present 
life  ?  His  manhood  and  his  conscience  answered, 
never.  He  clasped  her  closer  to  his  aching  heart — 
he  kissed  again  the  tempting  lips — his  eyes  lingered 
with  one  long  sad  look  upon  the  lovely  face,  and  then 
he  slowly  answered  : 

"  How  well,  how  fatally  I  love, 
My  madness  and  my  misery  prove ; 
All  earthly  hopes  I  could  resign — 
Nay,  life  itself,   to  call   thee  mine. 
But  shall   I  make  thy  spotless   name — 
That  sacred  spell — a  word  of  shame  ? 

Shall  selfish  Maj nun's  heart  be  blest 
And  Laili  prove   the  Arab's  jest  ? 
The  city's  gates  though  we  may  close 
We  cannot  still  our  conscience's  throes. 
No — we  have   met,— a  moment's  bliss 
Has  dawned   upon  my  gloom   in  vain 
Life  yields  no  more  a  joy  like  this, 
And  all  to  come  can  be  but  pain. 

Thou,  thou,  adored  !  might  be  mine  own 
A  thousand  deaths  let   Majnun   die 
Ere  but  a   breath  by  slander   blown 
Should  sully  Laili's  purity! 
Go,  then — and  to  thy  tribe  return, 
Fly  from  my  arms  that  clasp  thee  yet; 
I  feel  my  brain  with  frenzy  burn — 
Oh,  joy,   could  I  but  thus  forget ! " 


304  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

With  another  kiss  upon  the  silent  lips — another 
close  embrace,  the  manly  lover  tore  himself  away  to 
another  struggle  between  death  and  life  ;  still  warring 
in  the  unequal  strife  with  fate,  he  told  to  the  desert 
wind,  his  piteous  tale  : 

"  The  fevered   thoughts  that  on  me  prey 
Death's  sea  alone  can  sweep  away. 
I  found   the  bird   of  Paradise 
That  long  I   sought   with   care ; 
Fate  snatched   it  from  my  longing  eyes — 
I  held — despair. 

Wail,  Laill,  wail  our  fortunes  crossed, 
Weep,  Majnun,  weep — forever  lost." 

DEATH   OF  THE   LOVERS. 

Time  passed  by  on  leaden  feet,  for  he  no  longer  car- 
ried in  his  hands  the  flowers  of  hope.  No  longer  the 
bare  horizon  of  the  desert  was  illumined  with  the  mirage 
of  rivers  and  palms.  Fate  had  done  her  worst,  and 
Death,  the  great  consoler,  waited  near  to  place  his 
seal  with  the  touch  of  peace  upon  the  weary  brow. 
The  flower  of  the  desert  lay  again  in  the  tower 
where  she  had  passed  so  many  wasted  years,  and 
feeling  that  her  life  was  going  out  with  the  glory  of 
the  setting  sun,  she  called  her  mother  to  her  side  and 
pleaded  that  when  she  was  gone  Majnun  might  be 
allowed  to  weep  over  her  grave. 

"  Again  it  was  the  task  of  faithful  Zyd, 
Through  far  extending  plain   and  forest  wide, 
To  seek  the  man  of  woes,  and  tell 
The  fate  of  her,  alas  !  he  loved  so  well. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  305 

With  bleeding  heart  he  found  his  lone  abode, 
Watering  with  tears  the  path   he  rode. 
And  beating  his  sad  breast,  Majnun  perceived 
His  friend  approach,  and  asked  him  why  he  grieved? 
'  Alas  ! '  he  cried,  '  the  hail  has  crushed   my   bowers, 
A  sudden  storm  has  blighted  all  my  flowers  ; 
Thy  cypress  tree  overthrown,  the  leaves  are  sear ; 
The  moon  has  fallen  from   her  lucid  sphere ; 
Laili  is  dead.'" 

His  sad  duty  was  done,  and  the  bereaved  lover  lay 
unconscious  at  his  feet.  With  gentle  ministry  the 
stricken  man  was  roused  from  his  swoon,  and  then  he 
started  toward  the  loved  one's  grave. 

"  Now  he  threads 

The  mazes  of  the  shadowy  wood,  which  spreads 
Perpetual  gloom,  and  now  emerges  where 
No  bower  nor  grove  obstructs  the  fiery  air  ; 
Climbs  the  mountain's  brow,  o'er  hill  and  plain 
Urged  quicker  onward  by  his  burning  brain, 
Across  the  desert's  arid  boundary  hies 
Zyd,  like  a  shadow,  following  where  he  flies. 

And  when  the  tomb  of  Laili  meets  his  view, 
Prostrate  he  falls,  the  ground  his  tears  bedew; 
'  Alas  ! '  he  cries,  '  no  more  shall  I  behold 
That  angel  face,  that  form  of  heavenly  mould, 
For  thou  hast  quitted  this  contentious  life, 
This  scene  of  endless  treachery  and  strife  ; 
And  I,  like  thee,   shall  soon  my  fetters  burst, 
And  quench,  in  draughts  of  heavenly  love,  my  thirst. 
There  where  angelic  bliss  can  never  cloy, 
We  soon  shall  meet  in  everlasting  joy  ; 


306  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

The  taper  of  our  souls,  more  clear  and  bright, 

Will  then  be  lustrous  with  immortal  light/" 
The  troubled  day  was  closing  fast  in  night,  and 
though  he  received  the  kindly  ministry  of  his  friends, 
only  a  few  more  weeks  had  passed  away,  when  the 
stricken  lover  was  found  with  his  head  resting  loving- 
ly upon  her  tomb,  while  upon  his  loyal  brow  there 
rested  the  peaceful  touch  of  death.  His  weary  heart 
had  found  rest  at  last,  rest  beyond  the  fevered  dream 
of  life,  with  all  its  anxious  hopes  and  fears.  IJeverent 
hands  opened  Laili's  tomb,  and  they  laid  the  stilled 
heart  beside  her  own. 
"  One  promise  bound  their  faithful  hearts — one  bed 

Of  cold,  cold  earth  united  them  when  dead. 

Severed  in  life,  how  cruel  was  their  doom  ! 

Ne'er  to  be  joined  but  in  the  silent  tomb  ! " 

THE   VISION    OF   ZYD. 

No  heart  more  loyal  was  left  behind  than  that  of 
the  faithful  page  who  so  long  had  done  the  lady's 
bidding.  He  often  pondered  on  the  faith  and  devo- 
tion of  the  lovers,  and  one  night  he  slept  alone  beneath 
the  desert  sky,  when  the  canopy  of  heaven  seemed  to 
roll  away.  A  new  morning  seemed  to  dawn  in  glory 
upon  the  waiting  earth,  and  touch  the  distant  moun- 
tain peaks  with  crowns  of  light.  Beneath  the  radiance 
of  its  coming,  the  secrets  of  the  earth,  which  had  been 
written  in  the  roll-call  of  the  ages,  were  read  by  the 
waiting  millions,  for  the  age  of  recompense  had  come. 
The  desert  sands  gave  way  to  vistas  of  golden  fruit 
and  blooming  roses ;  the  white  lilies  gleamed  amidst 
the  green  verdure,  and  the  almond  blossoms  waved  in 


SECOND    PERIOD.  307 

silvery  sprays  upon  the  passing  breeze.  The  nightin- 
gale sang  in  fadeless  bowers,  and  the  low,  sweet  voices 
of  the  ring-doves  were  heard  among  the  feathery  plumes 
of  the  palms.  The  desert  voices  gave  way  to  the  rich 
melodies  from  harp  and  shell.  The  fronded  palms 
pressed  upward,  and  a  royal  throne,  with  gems  and 
gold,  stood  beneath  their  protecting  shade. 

"  Upon  that  throne,  in  blissful  state, 
The  long  divided  lovers  sate, 
Resplendent  with  seraphic  light, 
They  held  a  cup  with  diamonds  bright/' 

This  cup  was  filled  with  the  nectar  of  immortality, 
and,  quaffing  its  rich  contents,  they  wandered  away, 
hand  in  hand,  through  the  long  aisles  of  unfading 
flowers. 

"  The  dreamer  who   this  vision  saw, 
Demanded  with  becoming  awe, 
What  sacred  names  the  happy  pair 
In  Irem-bowers  were  wont  to  bear. 
A  voice  replied  :  'That  sparkling  moon 
Is  Laili  still — her  friend  Majnun ; 
Deprived  in  your  frail  world  of  bliss, 
They  reap  their  great  reward  in  this  ! ' " 

Zyd  wakened  from  his  wondrous  dream,  and,  rejoic- 
ing, told  the  story  of  his  glad  vision.  The  sons  of 
the  desert  took  up  the  mystic  theme,  and  still  repeat 
the  promise  that  pure  and  loyal  love  can  never  fail 
of  its  final  reward. 

"  Saki  !  Nizami's  song  is  sung  ; 
The  Persian  poet's  pearls  are  strn  ng ; 


308  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Then  fill  again   the  goblet  high  ! 
Thou  wouldst  not  ask  the  reveler  why 
Fill  to  the  love  that  changes  never  ! 
Fill  to  the  love  that  lives  forever  ! 
That  purified  by  earthly  woes, 
At  last  with  bliss  seraphic  glows." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THIRD  PERIOD. 

GENGHIS  KHAN — JALAL-UDDIN  RUMI — SA'Dl — WORKS  OF 
SA/DI —  THE  BUSTAN —  THE  PEARL  —  KINDNESS  TO 
THE  UNWORTHY  —  SILENCE  THE  SAFETY  OF  IGNO- 
RANCE—  DARIUS  AND  HIS  HORSE-KEEPER — STORIES 
FROM  THE  GULISTAN —  THE  WISE  WRESTLER — DAN- 
GERS OF  PROSPERITY — BORES. 

THE  third  period  of  Persian  poetry,  which  may  be 
called  the  mystic  and  moral  age,  is  assigned  to 
the  thirteenth  century. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Genghis  Khan,  the  Tar- 
tar chief,  swept  like  a  mountain  torrent  over  the  East. 
His  first  attack  was  upon  the  countries  beyond  the 
Oxus,  where  the  devotees  of  science  had  taken  refuge 
during  the  invasion  of  Persia  by  the  Arabs.  Bokhara 
and  Samarcand  were  then  the  homes  of  scholars  and 
the  centres  of  civilization.  Their  colleges  and  libraries 
were  celebrated  throughout  the  Orient,  but  during  the 
great  Tartar  invasion  these  cities  were  both  destroyed, 
being  stormed  and  burned  by  the  Tartar  horde,  while 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  lives  were  sacrificed 
to  the  cruelty  of  the  invading  host.  Bagdad  was  also 
devastated,  the  colleges  destroyed  and  the  most  valu- 
able books  in  the  libraries  were  thrown  into  the  Tigris. 

During  these  stormy  times  the  courts  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Selucidae  were  sought  by  scholars  as 

309 


310  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

places  of  refuge,  some  of  their  princes  being  literary 
men.  A  prince  of  this  dynasty,  by  the  name  of 
Alladin  Kaikubad,  became  somewhat  celebrated  in  the 
world  of  letters,  and  during  his  reign  Iconium  became 
the  refuge  of  scholars  from  the  Asiatic  nations,  who 
felt  that  on  the  western  frontiers  of  the  continent 
they  were  more  secure  from  the  attacks  of  the  barba- 
rians. The  brightest  ornament  of  this  court  was  the 
mystic  poet  and  philosopher, 

JALAL-UDDIN   RUMI.1 

His  father  was  the  founder  of  a  college  at  Iconium 
in  Syria,  but  after  his  father's  death  Jalal-uddin  went 
to  Aleppo  and  Damascus  to  continue  his  studies,  and 
finally  succeeded  to  the  direction  of  the  college.  His 
literary  fame  rests  upon  his  Mesnevi,  a  work  in  six 
volumes,  which  is  a  series  of  stories  with  moral  max- 
ims. Some  portions  of  this  work  may  be  compared  to 
the  Hitapodesa,  while  other  parts  appear  to  be  an  im- 
itation of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  or  Ecclesiastes.  He 
was,  however,  the  author  of  several  lyrics  that  are 
worthy  of  preservation  ;  of  these  the  following  is,  per- 
haps, the  best  : 

THE   FAIREST   LAND. 

"  Tell  me,  gentle  traveler,  thou 
Who  hast  wandered  far  and  wide — 
Seen  the  sweetest  roses  blow, 
And  the  brightest  rivers  glide; 
Say,  of  all  thine  eyes  have  seen, 
Which  the  fairest  land  has  been  ?  " 

i  Born  at  Balkhn,  A.  D.  1297. 


THIRD   PERIOD.  311 

"Lady,  shall  I  tell  thee  where 
Nature  seems  most  blest  and  fair, 
Far  above  all  climes  beside  ? 
'Tis  where  those  we  love  abide, 
And  that  little  spot  is  best 
Which  the  loved  one's  foot  hath  pressed. 
Though  it  be  a  fairy  space, 
Wide  and  spreading  is  the  place ; 
Though  'twere  but  a  barren  mound, 
'Twould  become  enchanted  ground  ; 
With  thee,  yon  sandy  waste  would  seem 
The  margin  of  Al-Cawthar's  stream  ; 
And  thou  canst  make  a  dungeon's  gloom 
A  bower  where  new-born  roses  bloom." 

The  most  important  bard  of  this  period  was 
SA'DI. 

Shaikh  Sa'dl,  as  he  is  called,  was  born  at  Shiraz,1 
while  his  country  was  under  Turkish  rule.  He  was 
educated  at  a  college  in  Bagdad,  where  he  lived  until 
he  was  sixty-four  years  of  age,  when  he  had  obtained 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  poet  and  orator.  In  later 
years,  when  the  Tartar  Chief  Halaku  Khan  had  over- 
run the  adjacent  territory  and  captured  Bagdad,  Sa'dl, 
with  many  others,  was  obliged  to  flee.  He  visited 
different  parts  of  Europe,  Africa,  and  even  Asia  as 
far  as  India. 

The  poet  was  twice  married,  but  his  caustic  crit- 
icisms upon  womankind  would  indicate  that  both  of 
these  ventures  were  unfortunate ;  the  last  was  especially 
so.  He  had  been  living  at  Damascus,  but  becoming 

1A.  D.  1176. 


312  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

tired  of  the  society  that  he  found  there,  he  wandered 
into  the  desert  of  Palestine.  Here  he  was  captured 
by  the  Crusaders,  and  forced  to  work  in  the  mud 
with  the  Jewish  captives,  upon  the  fortifications  at 
Tripoli.  A  chief  belonging  to  Aleppo  found  him 
there,  and  recognizing  him,  he  paid  ten  pieces  of  sil- 
ver as  the  poet's  ransom,  and  carried  him  to  his  own 
home  in  Aleppo.  It  appears  that  the  chief  had  a 
beautiful  daughter,  with  a  temper  like  a  vixen  ;  she 
had  a  dower,  however,  of  an  .hundred  pieces  of  silver, 
and  by  a  little  careful  management  of  her  temper  and 
an  artful  exhibition  of  her  beauty  she  finally  succeeded 
in  marrying  Sa'di.  Of  course  his  home  was  far  from 
being  a  paradise,  and  her  beauty  soon  lost  its  charms 
for  her  husband.  Upon  one  occasion  she  tauntingly 
asked  him,  "  Are  you  not  the  fellow  that  my  father 
bought  for  ten  pieces  of  silver?"  "Yes,"  retorted  the 
poet,  "and  he  sold  me  to  you  for  an  hundred  pieces." 
Sa'di  had  a  son  and  a  daughter,  who  were  the  chil- 
dren of  his  first  wife ;  the  son,  to  whom  he  was  de- 
votedly attached,  died  in  infancy,  but  the  daughter 
lived  to  become  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  poet  Hafiz. 
Sa'di  closed  his  long  life  at  Shiraz,  where  it  began, 
having  lived  more  than  a  hundred  years.1  He  is  hon- 
ored as  a  saint  by  the  Mohammedans,  and  his  tomb 
called  Sadiya,  near  Shiraz,  is  visited  by  many  pilgrims, 
and  is  also  a  resort  for  European  travelers. 

THE    WORKS    OF    SA'DI. 

This  author  was    an  accomplished  linguist,  and  M. 
De     Tassy 2    claims    that    he    was  the    first  poet   who 

iSome  authorities  say  that  he  died  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  years, 
while  others  claim  that  he  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  sixteen. 
2  Journal  Asiatique,  Jan.,  1843. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  313 

wrote  verse  in  the  Hindustani  dialect.  He  also  wrote 
freely  in  Arabic  as  well  as  Persian.  His  style  is  vig- 
orous and  unusually  simple  for  a  Persian  poet,  but  like 
all  the  others,  he  sometimes  indulges  in  fulsome  flat- 
tery, and  florid  description.  His  largest  work  is  the 
Diwan,  which  is  a  collection  of  lyric  poetry,  but  it 
is  not  so  much  admired  as  some  of  his  smaller  works. 
Indeed  his  lyric  poems  do  not  possess  the  graceful 
ease  of  Hafiz's  songs,  but  they  are  full  of  pathos,  and 
like  his  other  works,  they  show  a  fearless  love  of 
truth,  and  a  tone  of  pure  morality.  Although  he 
was  the  author  of  many  works,  the  most  popular 
among  European  scholars  are  the  Bustan,  or  Fruit 
Garden,  and  the  Gulistan,  or  Rose  Garden,  both  of 
which  are  dedicated  to  the  reigning  king. 

THE   BUSTAN. 

This  is  a  work  consisting  of  ten  chapters  of  didac- 
tic verse,  and  it  teaches  lessons  of  morality  and  pru- 
dence in  the  form  of  poetic  fable.  It  has  been  pub- 
lished in  Calcutta,  Lahore  and  Cawnpore,  as  well 
as  in  the  capitals  of  Europe.  It  has  been  translated 
into  German,  French,  English  and  other  tongues,  al- 
ways retaining  more  or  less  of  the  popularity  which 
it  still  enjoys  in  its  native  idiom. 

The  following l  are  the  best  specimens  of  this  pecu- 
liar verse : 

THE    PEARL. 

"  From  the  cloud  there  descended  a  droplet  of  rain  ; 
'Twas  ashamed  when  it  saw  the  expanse  of  the  main. 

i  From  Davies'  version. 


314  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Saying,   *  Who  may  I  be,  where  the  sea  has  its  run  ? 
If  the  sea  has  existence,  I,  truly,  have  none  ! ' 
Since  in  its  own  eyes  the  drop  humble  appeared, 
In  its  bosom,  a  shell  with  its  life  the  drop  reared  ; 
The  sky  brought  the  work  with  success  to  a  close, 
And  a  famed    royal  pearl   from  the  rain-drop  arose. 
Because  it  was  humble  it  excellence    gained ; 
Patiently  waiting  till  success  was  obtained." 

KINDNESS  TO   THE    UNWORTHY. 

"I    have    heard   that  a    man  some  home   sorrow  en- 
dured, 

For  bees  in  his  roof  had  their  dwelling  secured 
He  asked  for  a  big  butcher's  knife  from  his  dame — 
To  demolish  the  nest  of  the  bees  was  his  aim. 

His  wife  said,   '  Oh,  do  not  effect  your  design ! 
For    the    poor  bees,   dispersed   from  their  dwelling, 

will  pine/ 

The  foolish  man  yielded  and   went  his  own  way  ; 
His  wife,    with   their  stings   was  assaulted  one  -day. 

The    man  from  his  shop  to  his  dwelling  returned , 
At  his  wife's  stupid  folly,  with  anger  he  burned. 
The  ignorant   woman,    from  door,    street  and    roof, 
Was    shouting    complaints,    while   the   man  gave  re- 
proof ! 

'Do  not  make  your  face  sour  in  men's  presence,  oh 

wife  ! 

Deprive  not,  you  said,  the   poor  bees   of    their    life  ! 
On  behalf  of  the  bad,  why  beneficence  show  ? 
Forbear   with    the    bad,    and    you   make    their    sins 

grow.' 


THIRD    PEKIOD.  315 

When  the  ruin  of  men,  by  flattery  you   note 

With  a  two-edged  sword,  cut  the   flatterer's  throat." 

SILENCE  THE   SAFETY    OF    IGNORANCE. 

A  good  natured  man  who  in  tatters  was  dressed, 
For  a  season  in  Egypt,  strict  silence  professed. 
Men  of  wisdom,   from    near  and    from  far,    at    the 

sight, 
Gathered    round  him  like  moths,   seeking  after    the 

light. 

One  night  he  communed  with  himself  in  this  way  ; 
'  Beneath   the  tongue's  surface  the  man  hidden  lay  ; 
If  I  carry  my  head  for  myself  in  this  plan, 
How  can  people  discover  in  me  a  wise  man  ? ' 

He  spoke,    and   his    friends,    and  his  foes  all   could 

see, 

That  the  greatest  of   blockheads   in    Egypt  was  he  ! 
His  admirers  dispersed  and   his  trade  lost  its   note ; 
He  journeyed  and  over  a  mosque's   arch    he    wrote  : 
'  Could  I  have  myself  in  a  looking-glass  seen, 
Not  in  ignorance  would  I  have  riven  my  screen. 
So  ugly,  the  veil  from  my  features  I  drew, 
For  I  thought  that  my  face  was  most  charming  to 

view.' 

Oh,  sensible  person  !     In  silence    serene 
You   have  honor,    and    people    unworthy,  a    screen. 
If  you've  learning,  you  should  not  your  dignity  lose  ! 
If  you're  ignorant,   tear  not  the  curtain  you  use ! 
The  beasts  are  all   dumb,   and  man's  tongue   is  re- 
leased ; 
A  nonsensical  talker  is  worse  than  a  beast  ! 


316  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

A  speaker  should  talk  in  a  sensible  strain  ; 
If  he  can't ;  like  the  brutes,  he  should  silence  main- 
tain." 

DARIUS   AND    HIS    HORSE-KEEPER. 

I  have  heard  that  Darius  of  fortunate  race 
Got  detached  from  his  suite,  on  the  day  of  the  chase. 
Before  him  came  running  a  horse-tending  lout  ; 
The  king  from  his  quiver  an  arrow  pulled  out, — 
In  the  desert  'tis  well  to  show  terror  of  foes, 
For  at  home  not  a  thorn  will  appear  on  the  rose ; 
The  terrified  horse-keeper  uttered  a  cry, 
Saying : — "  Do  not  destroy  me  !   no  foeman  am  I. 
I  am  he  who  takes  care  of  the  steeds  of  the  king ; 
In  this  meadow,  with  zeal  to  my  duty  I  cling." 
The  king's  startled  heart  found  composure  again  ; 
He  smiled  and  exclaimed  : — "  Oh  most  foolish  of  men  ! 
Some  fortunate  angel  has  succored  you  here  ; 
Else   the  string  of  my  bow,    I'd   have  brought  to  my 
ear." 

The  guard  of  the  pasturage  smiled  and  replied  : — 
"Admonition  from  friends  it  becomes  not  to  hide. 
The  arrangements  are  bad  and  the  counsels  unwise, 
When  the  king  can't  a  friend  from  a  foe  recognize. 
The  condition  of  living  in  greatness  is  so, 
That  every  dependant  you  have  you  should  know. 
You  often  have  seen  me  when  present  at  court, 
And  inquired  about  horses  and  pastures  and  sport, 
And  now  that  in  love  I  have  met  you  again, 
Me  you  cannot  distinguish  from  rancorous  men. 
As  for  me,  I  am  able,  oh  name-bearing  king  ! 
Any  horse  out  of  one  hundred  thousand  to  bring. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  317 

With  wisdom  and  judgment  as  herdsman  I  serve; 
Do  you  in  like  manner  your  own  flock  preserve  ! " 
In  that  capital  anarchy  causes  distress, 
Where  the  plans  of  the  king  than  the  herdsman's  are 

less. 

STORIES   FROM   THE   GULISTAN, 

The  Gulistan  is  the  best  of  Sa'di's  works,  and  one 
of  the  most  popular  of  the  Persian  classics.  It  has 
been  translated  into  the  dialects  of  India,  as  well  as 
the  languages  of  Europe,  and  the  Latin  version  of 
Gentius  has  long  been  popular  with  Eurot>ean  schol- 
ars. 

It  has  acquired  a  greater  popularity,  both  in  the 
East  and  the  West,  than  any  other  work  by  the  same 
author,  on  account  of  the  graceful  style  of  its  com- 
position, and  the  varied  character  of  its  contents.  It 
is  a  collection  of  short  stories,  each  of  which  is  in- 
tended to  illustrate  some  cardinal  principle.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  of  these  sketches, 
while  the  final  chapter  is  devoted  to  "Rules  for  the 
Conduct  of  Life."  Many  of  these  rules,  like  the 
Dhammapada  of  Buddha,  appear  to  have  been  founded 
upon  the  proverbs  of  Solomon.  Of  the  sketches,  the 
following  l  are  the  best. 

THE   WISE    WRESTLER. 

A  celebrated  athlete  taught  the  art  of  wrestling  to 
Persian  youths,  and  so  great  was  his  dexterity  that 
his  pupils  learned  hundreds  of  different  methods 
whereby  an  antagonist  could  be  thrown.  Indeed,  it 

1  From  Uladwin's  Translation. 


318  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

was  said  that  the  teacher  understood  three  hundred 
and  sixty  capital  sleights  in  this  art,  and  every  day 
exhibited  some  new  feat  to  his  pupils.  He  had  one 
favorite  pupil,  whose  fine  proportions  and  manly 
bearing  were  the  admiration  of  the  master,  and  he 
taught  him  three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  of  these 
sleights.  The  young  man  became  very  proficient,  and 
at  length  very  boastful.  He  gloried  in  his  youth 
and  fine  physical  development,  as  well  as  his  profic- 
iency in  the  art,  and  after  a  time  he  boasted, 
even  in  the  presence  of  the  Sultan,  that  no  one 
was  able  to  cope  with  him — that  he  merely  allowed 
his  master  to  maintain  a  superiority  over  him  in 
deference  to  his  years,  and  also  in  consideration  of  the 
fact,  that  he  had  been  his  tutor. 

The  Sultan  was  disgusted  with  the  conceit  of  the 
young  wrestler,  and  commanded  him  to  make  a  trial 
of  his  skill  in  the  royal  presence,  choosing  his  former 
tutor  as  his  opponent.  The  ministers  of  state  and 
many  officials  of  the  court  were  in  attendance,  and 
the  young  champion  entered  the  field  with  all  the 
confidence  and  insolence  of  his  nature — indeed  it  is 
said  that  "he  entered  with  a  percussion  that  would 
have  removed  a  mountain  of  iron."  The  old  master 
stood  calmly  awaiting  the  fiery  youth,  whose  strength 
he  well  knew  far  excelled  his  own,  but  when  he  came 
up  to  him,  the  tutor  made  the  attack  with  the  sleight 
the  knowledge  of  which  he  had  kept  to  himself. 

The  young  boaster  was  taken  at  a  disadvantage, 
and  was  helpless  in  the  hands  of  the  master,  who 
took  him  up  from  the  ground,  and  threw  him  over 
his  head,  leaving  him  prostrate  upon  the  earth. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  319 

The  wildest  cheers  of  delight  rang  through  the 
assembled  multitudes,  and  the  Sultan  commanded 
that  a  rich  reward  be  given  to  the  tutor.  The  dis- 
comfited youth  complained  to  the  royal  donor  that 
his  master  had  not  gained  the  victory  over  him 
through  strength  or  skill,  but  had  kept  from  him  one 
little  feint  in  the  art  of  wrestling,  and  by  this 
means  had  taken  the  advantage  of  him. 

The  master  then  observed,  "I  reserved  it  for  an 
occasion  like  this ;  the  sages  have  taught  us  not  to 
put  oneself  so  much  in  the  power  of  a  supposed 
friend  that,  should  he  become  an  enemy,  he  may  be 
able  to  injure  you/' 

DANGERS    OF   PROSPERITY. 

A  certain  king,  who  was  dying  without  an  heir  to 
the  throne,  directed  in  the  royal  will  that,  on  the 
morning  after  his  death,  the  first  person  who  came  in 
through  the  gates  of  the  city  should  receive  the  crown 
of  royalty  and  the  care  of  the  kingdom.  It  hap- 
pened that  the  first  man  who  came  in,  was  in  the 
depths  of  poverty,  and  his  life  was  a  struggle  with 
hardship  and  suffering.  The  ministers  of  state,  how- 
ever, placed  the  crown  of  royalty  upon  the  head  of 
the  astonished  man,  and  he  was  delighted  with  the 
wonderful  change  in  his  fortune.  After  a  time,  how- 
ever, the  nobles  of  his  court  rebelled  against  his  rule, 
the  surrounding  kings  formed  hostile  combinations 
against  him,  and  he  learned  that  no  position  in  life  is 
exempt  from  trials.  His  troops  were  thrown  into 
confusion,  the  peasantry  sympathized  with  the  lead- 
ers of  the  revolt  and  he  soon  lost  possession  of  the 
disputed  territories. 


320  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

In  the  midst  of  these  political  misfortunes  and  mil- 
itary defeats,  an  old  friend,  who  had  been  the  com- 
panion of  the  king  in  the  days  of  his  poverty,  re- 
turned from  a  long  trip,  and  called  to  congratulate 
him  upon  the  radical  change  in  his  fortunes. 

But  the  unfortunate  monarch  replied,  "  Oh,  my 
brother !  this  is  not  a  time  for  congratulations,  but 
for  condolence;  when  you  last  saw  me  I  was  anxious 
only  to  obtain  my  bread,  but  now  I  have  all  the 
cares  of  the  world  to  encounter.  There  is,  indeed,  no 
calamity  greater  than  worldly  prosperity  ;  if  therefore 
you  want  riches,  seek  only  for  contentment,  which  is 
inestimable  wealth.  If  a  rich  man  should  throw  money 
into  your  lap,  consider  yourself  under  no  obligations 
to  him,  for  the  kindness  of  a  humble  and  genuine 
friend  is  better  than  the  alms  of  the  rich." 

BORES. 

A  busy  student  complained  to  his  teacher  that  his 
time  was  constantly  taken  up  by  visitors.  People, 
whose  time  is  of  no  value  to  them,  do  not  consider  that 
any  one  else  may  value  theirs ;  they  therefore  present 
themselves  continually  and  gossip  of  people  or  things, 
merely  to  pass  away  the  time  and  waste  the  golden 
hours.  "How  can  I  be  relieved  of  them  ?"  pleaded 
the  pupil.  His  tutor  replied,  "To  such  of  them  as 
are  poor,  lend  money,  and  from  those  that  are  rich, 
ask  favors  ;  then  you  may  rest  assured  that  they  will 
cease  to  trouble  you.  If  a  beggar  were  the  leader  of 
the  Mohammedan  army,  the  infidels  would  flee  to 
China,  through  fear  of  his  importunity. " 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

LATER    PERIODS. 

THE  FOURTH  PERIOD— LITERARY  KINGS — HAFIZ—  PIR-I- 
SEBZ — SHIRAZ  —  THE  FEAST  OF  SPRING — MY  BIRD — 
FIFTH  PERIOD — JAMI — THE  WORKS  OF  JAMI — RECEP- 
TION— THE  SIXTH  PERIOD — THE  SEVENTH  PERIOD. 

ri^HE  fourth  period,  which  began  at  the  close  of  the 
•*•  thirteenth  century  and  continued  until  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifteenth,  represents  the  highest  develop- 
ment of  lyric  poetry  and  rhetoric,  although  these  were 
stormy  times  in  the  political  and  literary  world. 

During  this  period  Persia  had  many  men  of  cul- 
ture, and,  indeed,  she  boasted  of  one  literary  king. 

Sultan  Ahmed  Ilkhani,  who  reigned  over  Bagdad, 
Azerbaijan,  and  some  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  conducted 
his  court  with  great  pomp  and  splendor.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  accomplished  men  of  the  age,  being  an 
artist  and  illuminator  as  well  as  a  musical  composer. 
His  beautiful  calligraphy,  in  various  languages,  was 
highly  celebrated,  and  his  poetical  productions,  in  both 
the  Persian  and  Turkish  tongues,  were  considered  very 
meritorious.  His  moral  character,  however,  presented 
a  sad  contrast  to  his  intellectual  attainments,  and  his 
remorseless  cruelty  made  him  an  object  of  detestation 
to  his  subjects.  He  was  entirely  merciless  when  intox- 
icated with  opium,  and  on  these  occasions  he  would 


322  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

put  people  to  death  on  the  most  trivial  pretenses.  His 
conduct  provoked  the  enmity  of  the  influential  families 
of  Bagdad,  and  at  length  the  public  sentiment  against 
him  became  so  strong  that  letters  were  written  by  the 
principal  men,  inviting  Amir  Timur  (Tamerlane)  to  the 
conquest  of  their  country,  and  pledging  him  their  as- 
sistance. The  invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  and 
when  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  conqueror  became 
known,  the  poetical  Sultan  sent  him  the  following 


"  Why  should  we  bare  our  neck  on   the  block  of  mis- 
fortune ? 
Why   should    we  despond   at    every  trifling  attack  of 

adversity  ? 

Like  the  Sirnurgh,  let   us  pass   over  seas  and  moun- 
tains 
And    thus    bring   the    earth    and    water  under    our 

wings." 

The    sentiment    was  given    in   Persian    verse,    and 
Timur  soon    found  a  poet   who    could  write  a  suitable 
response,  when  the  following  answer  was  returned  : 
"  Place  thy  neck  on  the  block  of  adversity,  and  move 

not  thy   head. 

Thou  canst  not  consider    trifling  a  most  severe  mis- 
fortune. 
Like    the   Slmurgh,    why    shouldst  thou  attempt   to 

climb  the  mountain,  Qaf  ? 
Rather  like  the  little  sparrow,    gather  in    thy  wings 

and  feathers  and  retire." 
Soon  afterward  Timur  approached  Bagdad,1  and  he 


LATER    PERIODS.  323 

not  only  captured  that  city  and  province,  but  he  proved 
to  be  the  veritable  scourge  of  the  Orient.  The  coun- 
try had  scarcely  recovered  from  the  ravages  of  Genghis 
Khan  when  Timur  conquered  the  whole  of  ancient 
Persia,  and,  flushed  with  success,  he  invaded  India  and 
sacked  Delhi,  where  he  obtained  the  richest  spoils  of 
his  campaign.  It  was  said  that  he  erected  towers  of 
human  heads,1  waded  through  streams  of  blood,  and 
marched  over  the  ruins  of  burning  cities,  in  order  to 
achieve  his  triumphs. 

Such  men  are  scarcely  calculated  to  encourage  the 
science  of  letters,  but  it  is  claimed  that  he  was  friendly 
to  scholars,  and  it  is  certain  that  history  was  devel- 
oped during  this  period. 

HAFIZ. 

Not  only  history,  but  also  poetry  flourished  under 
the  rule  of  the  Mongol  conqueror.2  This  was  the 
period  which  gave  birth  to  the  finest  lyric  poet  of 
Persia,  and  when  the  great  Timur  conquered  Fars  and 
put  Shah  Mansur  to  death,  Hafiz  was  in  Shiraz. 

It  was  *  at  this  time  that  he  was  ordered   into  the 
presence  of  the  new  ruler,  and   severely  reproved  for 
writing  such  a  line  as  the  following : 
"For  the  black  mole  on  thy  cheek,  I  would  give  the 
cities  of  Samarcilnd  and  Bokhara." 

Timur  sternly  said  to  the  poet,  "I  have  taken 
and  destroyed,  with  the  keen  edge  of  my  sword,  the 
greatest  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  to  add  splendor  and 
population  to  the  royal  cities  of  my  native  land, — 

J  It  is  claimed  that  he  used  ninety  thousand  human  heads  in  erecting 
pyramids  to  illustrate  his  horrible  triumph. 

2  Timur  was  also  of  Mongol  origin,  and  a  descendant  of  Genghis  Khan. 


324  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

Samarcand  and  Bokhara ;  and  yet  you  would  dispose 
of  them  both  at  once  for  the  black  mole  on  the 
cheek  of  your  beloved. " 

Instead  of  being  daunted  by  the  sternness  of  the 
reproof,  Hilfiz  calmly  replied,  "  Yes,  sire,  and  it  is 
by  such  acts  of  generosity  that  I  am  reduced,  as  you 
see,  to  my  present  state  of  poverty." 

Timur  smiled,  and  bestowed  upon  him  some  splen- 
did marks  of  the  royal  favor. 

The  name  of  Hafiz  was  a  nom  de  plume,  the 
poet's  true  name  being  Shemsuddin  Muhammed ;  he 
was  born  in  Shiraz  early  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  it  was  here  that  he  died  at  an  advanced  age. 
He  was  a  student  from  his  childhood,  but  his  espe- 
cial talent  was  the  gift  of  song.  His  style  is  clear, 
his  imagery  harmonious,  and  his  work  had  a 
certain  fascination  of  its  own  to  the  poetry-loving 
Persians,  who  are  still  charmed  with  the  peculiar 
accent  of  his  musical  rhythm,  and  the  flights  of  his 
vivid  imagination.  He  was  invited  to  make  his  home 
with  the  reigning  Sultan,  but  he  preferred  to  live 
in  retirement,  enjoying  the  society  of  friends  and 
scholars,  to  the  splendor  and  insecurity  of  court  life. 

Hafiz  was  also  invited  to  the  court  of  one  of  the 
Indian  princes,  at  a  time  when  many  poets  of  Persia 
and  Arabia  found  favor  with  a  literary  king,  and 
this  courtesy  he  intended  to  accept,  as  the  monarch 
sent  a  liberal  amount  of  money  with  the  invitation 
to  present  himself  at  the  royal  abode.  The  poet  gave 
a  portion  of  the  money  to  his  creditors,  and  sup- 
plied the  needs  of  his  sister's  children,  before  he 
started  out  upon  his  journey.  When  he  had  crossed 


LATER    PERIODS.  325 

the  Indus  and  traveled  as  far  as  Lahore,  he  met  a 
friend  who  was  in  great  distress,  having  been  robbed 
by  banditti,  and  to  him  he  gave  all  his  means 
without  considering  his  own  needs.  But  fortunately 
he  soon  met  two  Persian  merchants,  who  were  return- 
ing from  Hindustan,  and  who  proposed  to  pay  his 
expenses  for  the  pleasure  of  his  company.  They 
journeyed  together  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  he  even 
went  with  them  on  board  the  ship  that  was  to  bear 
them  away,  but  before  the  anchor  was  weighed  a 
terrible  storm  arose,  and  the  poet  turned  his  back 
upon  his  friends,  and  returned  home. 

Before  leaving  the  shore,  he  sent  on  board  the 
ship  an  apology  to  his  friends,  and  this  was  couched 
in  graceful  verse,  but  it  was  to  the  effect  that  at 
first  the  horrors  of  the  sea  seemed  light  in  consider- 
ation of  the  pearls  which  it  contained,  but  the  terror 
of  the  storm  had  taught  him  that  "the  infliction 
of  one  of  its  waves  would  not  be  compensated  for 
by  an  hundred-weight  of  gold." 

PIR-I-SEBZ. 

There  is  a  legend  connected  with  his  youth  which 
is  supposed  to  explain  his  wondrous  gift  of  poesy. 
Tradition  claimed  that  the  youth  who  should 
pass  forty  successive  nights  at  Pir-i-sebz  without 
sleep,  would  become  a  great  poet.  Young  Hfifiz 
therefore  made  a  vow,  that  he  would  fulfill  the  con- 
ditions with  the  utmost  exactness.  For  thirty-nine 
days  he  went  faithfully  to  his  post,  walking  every 
morning  by  the  home  of  the  girl  he  loved,  and  on 
the  fortieth  morning  she  called  him  in,  but  he  re- 


326  PERSIAN    LITERATI* RE. 

membered  his  vow  and  the  evening  found  him  again 
at  the  place  of  his  lonely  vigil. 

The  uneventful  night  passed  slowly  away,  and  the 
gray  dawn  began  to  tint  the  distant  mountain  tops, 
but  no  other  light  was  visible  save  the  gleam  of  the 
morning  star,  when  the  watcher  saw  in  the  distance 
a  figure  approaching  him.  It  was  a  venerable  man 
wearing  a  green  mantle,1  and  his  white  beard  flowed 
down  upon  his  garments  like  a  cascade  of  silver.  He 
bore  in  his  hand  a  cup,  filled  with  the  nectar  of  im- 
mortality, and  the  reverent  youth  bent  low  before  the 
genius  of  the  mountain,  and  then  drank  eagerly  of 
the  proffered  cup ;  therefore  he  still  lives  in  the 
memory  of  man. 

He  was  loyal  to  his  native  land,  and  the  following 
lines  indicate  his  strong  attachment  to  the  city  of  his 
birth. 

SHIRAZ. 

"  May  every  blessing  be  the  lot 
Of  fair  Shlraz,  earth's  loveliest  spot. 
Oh  Heaven  !  bid  Time  its  beauties  spare, 
Nor  print  his  wasteful  traces  there. 

Still  be  thou  blest  of  him  that  gave 
Thy  stream,  sweet  Euknabad,  whose  wave 
Can  every  human  ill  assuage, 
And  life  prolong  to  Khizer's  age. 

And  oh  the  gale  that  wings  its  way 
Twixt  Jaffrabad  and  Mosalay  ; 

1  Khizer  was  .the  prophet  who,  according  to  Oriental  tradition,  discov- 
ered and  drank  of  the  Fountain  of  Life,  and  it  was  he  who  bore  the  nectar 
to  the  waiting  poet. 


LATER    PERIODS.  327 

How  sweet  a  perfume  does  it  bear  ! 

How  grateful  is  its  amber  air  ! 

Ye  who  mysterious  joys  would  taste, 

Come  to  this  sacred  city — haste ; 

Its  saints,  its  sages  seek  to  know, 

Whose  breasts  with  heavenly  rapture  glow. 

And  say,  sweet  gale — for  thou  canst  tell — 

With  lovely  Laili  was  it  well, 

When  last  you  passed  the  maiden  by, 

Of  wayward  will  and  witching  eye  ? 

Why,  Hiifiz,  when  you  feared  the  day 

That  tore  you  from  her  arms  away, 

Oh  why  so  thankless  for  the  hours 

You  passed  in  Laili's  lovely  bowers  ? " 

In  his  youth  Hafiz  sang  freely  of  love  and  wine, 
and  his  verse  upon  these  themes  too  often  betrayed  a 
coarse  sentiment,  for  it  seems  impossible  for  some  bards 
to  appreciate  the  perfect  purity  of  honest  affection.  Of 
his  love  songs  the  following  is  the  best : 

THE   FEAST   OF   SPRING. 

"  My  breast  is  filled  with  roses, 
My  cup  is  crowned  with  wine, 

And  the  veil  her  face  discloses — 
The  maid  I  hail  as  mine. 

The  monarch,  wheresoe'er  he  be, 
Is  but  a  slave  compared  to  me. 

Their  glare  no  torches  throwing, 
Shall  in  our  bower  be  found — 

Her  eyes,  like  moonbeams  glowing, 
Cast  light  enough  around  ; 


328  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

And  other  odors  I  can  spare 

Who  scent  the  perfume  .of  her  hair. 

The  honey-dew  thy  charm  might  borrow 

Thy  lip  alone  to  me  is  sweet; 
When  thou  art  absent,  faint  with  sorrow 

I  hide  me  in  some  lone  retreat. 
Why  talk  to  me  of  power  or  fame  ? 

What  are  those  idle  toys  to  me  ? 
Why  ask  the  praises  of  my  name, 

My  joy,  my  triumph  is  in  thee. 

How  blest  am  I!  around  me  swelling 

The  notes  of  melody  arise  ! 
I  hold  the  cup  with  wine  excelling, 

And  gaze  upon  thy  radiant  eyes, 

Oh  Hafiz — never  waste  thy  hours 

Without  the  cup,  the  lute,  and  love 

For  'tis  the  sweetest  time  of  flowers 

And  none  these  moments  shall  reprove. 

The  nightingales  around  thee  sing 
It  is  the  joyous  feast  of  spring." 

As  Hafiz  grew  older  he  became  attached  to  the 
Sufi 1  philosophy,  and  his  poetry  contained  so  many 
figurative  allusions  that  the  Mussulmans  called  his  pro- 
ductions "  the  language  of  mystery,"  others  claim  that 
even  his  most  sensual  poems  are  figurative  and  should 
be  thus  interpreted.  Of  his  graver  poems  the  follow- 
ing is  the  best : 

i  Most  of  the  Asiatic  poets  are  Sufis,  and  claim  to  prefer  the  meditations 
of  mysticism  to  the  pleasures  of  the  world.  Their  fundamental  tenets  are 
that  nothing  exists,  absolutely,  except  God,  and  that  the  human  soul  is  an 
emanation  from  his  essence,  and  will  finally  be  restored  to  him. 


LATER   PERIODS.  329 

MY    BIRD. 

"My  soul  is  as  a  sacred  bird,   the  highest  heaven  its 

nest, 
Fretting    within  its   body-bars,    it   finds  on  earth  its 

nest ; 
When  rising  from  its  dusty  heap  this  bird  of  mine 

shall  soar 

Twill  find  upon  the  lofty  gate  the   nest  it   had  be- 
fore. 
The    Sidrah,1    shall    receive   my    bird,    when    it   has 

winged  its  way, 
And  on  the  Empyrean's   top,   my   falcon's  foot  shall 

stay, 
Over    the    ample    field   of  earth  is    fortune's   shadow 

cast, 
Where  upon   wings  and  pennons   borne    this   bird  of 

mine  has  past. 
No  spot  in  the  two  worlds  it  owns,  above  the  sphere 

its  goal, 
Its    body   from  the    quarry  is,  from  "No   Place"  is 

its  soul. 
'Tis  only  in  the  glorious  world  my  bird  its  splendor 

shows, 
The  rosy  bowers  of  Paradise  its  daily  food  bestows."2 

The  poet's  life  had  been  such  that  the  clergy  refused 
to  read  the  burial  service  over  his  body  when  he  died, 
his  friends,  however,  obviated  the  difficulty  by  strata- 
gem, and  it  was  decided  that  scattered  couplets  from 
his  odes  should  be  placed  in  a  bowl  and  drawn  there- 
from by  a  child,  the  disposition  of  the  body  to  be 

i  Sidrah— Tree  of  Paradise.  2  Bichuel's  Trans. 


330  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

settled  by  the  sense   of  the    couplet    thus  drawn  out. 
The  child  took  out  the  following  distich : 

"Withhold   not  your  step  from  the  bier  of  Hafiz, 
For,  though  sunk  in  sin,   he  goes  to  Paradise." 

And  upon  the  strength  of  the  evidence  thus  re- 
ceived the  body  was  given  an  honorable  burial. 

FIFTH  PERIOD. 

The  fifth  period  of  her  literature,  beginning  with 
the  fourteenth  century,  and  ending  about  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth,  marks  a  stationary  condition  in  the  Per- 
sian world  of  letters. 

The  sons  and  grandsons  of  Timiir,  although  at 
variance  in  their  political  interests,  vied  with  each 
other  in  the  encouragement  of  scholars,  and  for  a  time 
the  literary  world  retained  its  brilliancy.  Astronomy 
as  well  as  history  flourished  at  this  period,  and  great 
mathematicians  were  also  in  favor  with  royalty. 

JAMI. 

The  most  distinguished  poet  of  this  period  was 
Nuruddm  Abdurrahman,  who  very  wisely  chose  the 
briefer  and  more  euphonious  name  of  Jami.  He  was 
a  native  of  Jam,  a  small  town  near  Herat,  the  capital 
of  Khorasan,  and  it  was  from  this  circumstance  that 
he  called  himself  Jami,  which  signifies  a  drinking 
cup,  as  well  as  a  native  of  Jam. 

It  is  said  that  he  began  his  career  as  a  student  of 
science,  and  attained  great  proficiency  in  his  chosen 
field  of  investigation,  but  wishing  to  learn  the  mys- 
teries of  the  philosophy  of  the  Sufis,  he  became  a  pu- 
pil of  the  Shaikh  al  Islam  Saaduddin,  and  remained 


LATER   PERIODS.  331 

with  him  until  he  became  a  master  of  the  mystic  doc- 
trine. On  the  death  of  the  Shaikh,  he  succeeded  to 
his  position,  and  filled  it  so  well  that  kings  and 
princes  came  from  distant  lands  to  obtain  his  advice, 
while  his  home  was  the  resort  of  scholars,  as  well  as 
court  officials. 

He  was  not  only  the  most  celebrated  poet  of  his 
time,  but,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  he  was  superior  to 
his  predecessors,  and  being  also  a  Doctor  of  the  Mus- 
selman  law,  he  was  honored  by  all  the  princes  and 
nobles  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

He  was  the  last  great  poet  and  mystic  of  Persia, 
and  he  seemed  to  combine  the  moral  tone  of  Sa'dl, 
with  the  imagination  of  Jalal-uddin,  the  ease  of 
Hafiz,  and  the  pathos  of  Nizam  I. 

He  was  a  master  of  the  Persian  language  and  a 
most  prolific  author ;  Shir  Khan  Ludi,  in  his  "  Mem- 
oirs of  the  Poets,"  claims  that  he  was  the  author  of 
ninety-nine  different  works,  which  continue  to  be  ad- 
mired in  all  parts  of  Iran  and  Hindustan. 

The  enormous  expense  which  has  been  incurred 
in  the  illumination  of  fine  transcripts  of  his  manu- 
scripts, indicates  the  high  position  which  his  works 
still  occupy  in  the  literature  of  the  East. 

A  work  entitled  "Khorasan  in  Affliction"  was 
transcribed  at  Lahore  for  the  Emperor  of  Hindustan, 
during  the  sixteenth  century,1  which  represents  an  ex- 
penditure of  many  thousand  dollars.  The  calligraphy 
is  the  work  of  a  famous  scribe,  who,  on  account  of  his 
beautiful  penmanship,  was  called  "The  Pen  of  Gold." 

Sixteen  eminent  artists  were  engaged  in  the  embel- 

i  Finished  about  A.  D.  1575. 


332  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

lishment  of  this  manuscript  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  pages  ;  five  were  employed  upon  the  illum- 
inations and  marginal  arabesques ;  and  five  upon  the 
finely  colored  illustrations ;  there  were  three  engaged 
upon  the  hunting  scenes  and  animals,  while  three 
others  painted  the  faces  in  the  vignettes  and  margins. 

The  leaves  of  the  book  are  of  soft  silken  Kashml- 
rian  paper,  tinted  in  the  softest  shades  of  various  har- 
monious colors.  The  broad  margins  are  illuminated 
with  chaste  designs  painted  with  liquid  gold,  and  no 
two  pages  are  alike.  Some  of  these  designs  represent 
mosaic  work,  others  are  in  running  patterns,  and 
many  of  them  are  delineations  of  field  sports,  where 
the  simple  outlines  of  gold  indicate,  with  marvelous 
accuracy,  the  various  forms  of  animal  life.  This  was 
placed  in  the  library  of  Shah  Jehan,1  with  the  em- 
peror's autograph,  as  the  gem  of  his  collection,  and 
underneath  it  is  a  second  autograph  of  another  of  the 
royal  descendants  of  Timur. 

This  elaborate  manuscript  is  not  only  indicative  of 
the  great  popularity  of  Jami,  but  it  also  shows  the 
liberal  patronage  which  existed  for  all  works  of  art 
under  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Timur.  The  grave 
of  Jami  is  at  Herat,  where  he  was  laid2  at  the  age 
of  eighty-one  years,  and  this  illustrious  name  com- 
pletes the  list  of  the  seven  great  poets  of  Persia  who 
have  been  called  "  The  Persian  Pleiades." 

THE   WORKS   OF   JAMI. 

Although  this  author  was  a  voluminous  writer,  still 
his  most  important  works  may  be  briefly  summarized  ; 


LATER    PERIODS.  333 

there  is  a  book  on  ethics  and  education  containing 
anecdotes  and  fables,  written  both  in  prose  and  verse, 
afte*r  the  manner  adopted  by  Sa'-dl,  and  like  the  Gulis- 
tan,  it  is  divided  into  eight  chapters. 

One  of  his  books,  entitled  "  Irshad "  or  "  Instruc. 
tions,"  was  dedicated  to  a  Turkish  Sultan — Al  Fateh, 
"The  Conqueror."  "The  Seven  Thrones"  is  consid- 
ered by  an  eminent  native  critic  l  to  combine  the  most 
exquisite  compositions  in  the  Persian  language,  except 
the  "Five  Poems"  of  the  celebrated  Nizami.  The 
seven  gems  which  are  thus  alluded  to  bear  the  follow- 
ing titles  :  (1)  The  Chain  of  Gold  ;  (2)  Selman  and 
Absal  ;  (3)  The  Present  of  the  Just ;  (4)  The  Rosary ; 
(5)  The  Loves  of  Laili  and  Majnun  ;  (6)  Yusuf  and 
Zulaikha;  (7)  The  Book  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

The  character  of  Jiimi's  style  may  be  represented 
by  the  following  extract  from  Yusuf  and  Zulaikha, 
which  is  a  description  of  the  reception  of  a  Persian 
bride  at  an  Egyptian  court : 

RECEPTION. 

With  a  drum  of  gold  the  bright  firmament  beat 
At  morn  the  signal  for  night's  retreat. 
The  stars  with  the  night  at  the  coming  of  day 
Broke  up  their  assembly  and  passed  away. 
From  that  drum,  gold-scattering,  light  was  shed, 
Like  a  peacock's  glorious  plumes  outspread. 

In  princely  garb  the  Vizier  arrayed, 
Placed  in  her  litter  the  moon-bright  maid. 
In  the  van,  in  the  rear,  on  every  side, 
He  ordered  his  soldiers  about  the  bride, 

>  Haji  Luft  All. 


334  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

And  golden  umbrellas  a  soft  shade  threw 
O'er  the  heads  of  Zulaikha's  retinue. 
The  singer's  voices  rang  loud  and  high, 
As  the  camels  moved  at  the  driver's  cry, 
And  the  heaven  above  and  below  the  ground 
Echoed  afar  with  the  mingled  sound. 
Glad  were  the  maids  of  Zulaikha's  train 
That  their  lady  was  free  from  sorrow  and  pain, 
And  the  prince  and  people  rejoiced  that  she 
The  idol  and  queen  of  his  home  should  be. 

THE    SIXTH    PERIOD. 

The  sixth  period,  beginning  near  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  extending  to  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  seventeenth,  marks  a  gradual  decline 
in  poetry,  although  history  and  other  literature  still 
attract  much  attention.  The  so-called  poets  of  this 
age  are  unworthy  of  notice,  but  a  few  good  Persian 
historians  made  their  appearance. 

India  now  began  to  vie  with  Persia  in  the  produc- 
tion of  great  historical  works,  under  the  government 
of  the  Mongol  emperors  from  Baber  downwards.  The 
pantheistic  doctrines  of  the  Sufis  were  doubtless 
brought  into  Persia  from  India,  and  both  the  Rama- 
yana  and  the  Maha-bharata  were  translated  into  Persian 
by  the  order  of  Akbar.  This  monarch  was  the  most 
enlightened  sovereign  that  ever  reigned  on  the  throne 
of  India.  He  was  the  patron,  not  only  of  learning 
and  art,  but  he  also  richly  rewarded  the  calligraphers 
and  other  artists  that  he  employed  to  copy  and  illus- 
trate Persian  manuscripts.  This  illustrious  patron  of 
Persian  literature  was  a  descendant  of  Timur,  and 


LATER    PERIODS.  335 

therefore  belonged  to  the  race  of  Mongol  emperors, 
usually  styled  the  "  Great  Moguls."  The  history  of 
his  own  times  was  provided  for  by  the  appointment  of 
forty-four  historians,  ten  of  whom  were  on  duty  each 
day  to  record  every  event  as  it  occurred.  By  Akbar's 
order  the  "  History  of  a  Thousand  Years "  was  com- 
posed, several  authors  being  engaged  upon  it,  each  one 
having  a  certain  number  of  years  assigned  to  him.  A 
society  for  literary  composition  had  thus  been  organ- 
ized in  India  about  two  hundred  years  before  that  of 
Guthrie  and  Grey  had  been  established  in  England. 

THE   SEVENTH   PERIOD. 

The  seventh  period,  beginning  near  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century  and  continuing  until  about  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth,  shows  a  marked  decline  in 
Persian  literature.  With  Shah  Akbar1  and  Shah  Ab- 
bas,2 who  occupied  respectively  the  thrones  of  India 
and  of  Persia,  the  brilliancy  of  Persian  literature,  and 
especially  of  her  poetry,  entirely  disappeared.  During 
this  period  no  poet  has  arisen  above  mediocrity,  and 
no  historian  has  appeared  who  could  be  compared 
with  his  predecessors.  The  successors  of  Akbar,  it  is 
true,  left  contributions  to  the  history  at  their  time, 
and  a  valuable  dictionary  of  the  Persian  language 
was  compiled  from  forty  similar  works,  but  in  lieu  of 
poetry  and  history,  letter- writing  began  to  flourish  in 
both  India  and  Persia.  Elegant  calligraphy  was  now 
carried  to  an  extreme,  and  a  vast  amount  of  time 
and  labor  were  expended  upon  private  as  well  as  offi- 
cial letters.  The  state  secretaries  vied  with  each 

1  A.  D.  1556—1605.  2  A.  D.  1585-1628. 


336  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

other  in  the  production  of  elaborate  credentials  for 
their  ambassadors,  and  generally  men  of  education 
who  were  well  read  in  the  best  Persian  poets,  and 
able  to  recite  their  best  passages,  when  occasion  per- 
mitted, were  selected  for  ambassadors. 

From  the  time  of  Nadir  Shah  up  to  the  present, 
Persia  has  suffered  many  revolutions,  wars  and  fam- 
ines, and  although  they  could  not  destroy  the  admira- 
tion still  bestowed  upon  their  great  poets,  the  genius 
of  the  race  appears  to  have  become  extinct.  The 
poetry  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  of  little  value, 
and  the  dominant  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  is  pure 
mysticism,  as  embodied  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Sufis. 

Nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  have  their  periods 
of  mental  growth  and  decay,  and  when  once  fallen 
they  seldom  rise  again.  History,  however,  has  some 
splendid  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  Persia  has  had 
three  successive  periods  of  intellectual  prosperity, — 
three  times  has  the  national  spirit  awakened  as  from 
a  torpor,  and  for  a  season  it  has  gleamed  like  a  star 
in  the  Orient,  but  three  times  it  has  either  died  out, 
or  been  crushed  beneath  the  storm  of  conquest. 

Elated  with  their  success  under  the  brilliant  lead 
ership  of  Cyrus,  .a  change  which  was  almost  fatal 
took  place  in  Persian  character,  between  his  reign 
and  that  of  Darius.  Thus  his  own  people  proved 
the  truth  of  the  warning  words  of  Cyrus,  to  the 
effect  that  "the  effeminate  clime  produces  effeminate 
inhabitants,  nor  can  the  same  soil  produce  excellent 
fruits  and  men  who  are  valiant  in  war."1  Under  the 
Sassanian  kings,  however,  the  national  spirit  revived, 

i  Herodotus  IX. 


LATER   PERIODS.  337 

and  the  literature  of  Persia  sprang  to  life,  only  to  be 
trampled  beneath  the  foot  of  the  Arabian  invader. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  ninth  century  her  world 
of  letters  again  revived  and  flourished  in  various 
forms  during  the  six  periods  which  have  been  pre- 
viously discussed. 

Henceforth  she  has  a  national  literature,  with  its 
own  peculiar  faults  as  well  as  beauties,  even  though 
her  best  works  belong  to  her  past.  No  poetry  has 
ever  been  more  peculiarly  national  than  that  of  Per- 
sia, for  three  centuries  her  lyre  has  been  virtually 
silent,  and  yet  her  people  cherish  with  peculiar  fond- 
ness the  memory  of  her  poets.  The  finest  odes  of 
Hafiz  and  the  most  beautiful  passages  of  her  Shah 
Nfimah  still  live,  even  in  the  memory  of  her  peas- 
ants ;  and  the  sorrows  of  Laill  and  Majnim  will  be 
chanted  by  Persian  and  Arab  as  long  as  the  sons  of 
the  desert  are  found  amidst  the  roses  of  Iran. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI. 

PERSIAN  ROMANCE— THE  TWO  COMRADES— THE  SEP- 
ARATION— THE  QUEEN — THE  DEPARTURE — THE  AN- 
NOUNCEMENT. 

PERSIAN  romance,  as  well  as  Persian  poetry,  is 
burdened  with  florid  description,  and  the  redun- 
dancy of  style  which  is  everywhere  found  in  the 
works  of  even  their  best  authors  makes  them  tedious 
to  the  reader.  In  these  books  of  Oriental  romance, 
it  often  happens  that  a  new  story  is  begun  before 
the  first  is  finished,  being  introduced  as  a  narrative 
by  one  of  the  characters,  and  the  second  is  in  turn 
interrupted  by  a  third,  when  the  author  apparently 
forgets  to  finish  any  one  of  his  fables  except  the  last. 
Whole  volumes  are  constructed  in  this  way,  legends 
being  repeated  as  often  by  a  bird  or  an  animal  as 
by  men  and  women.  Story- telling  was  esteemed  a 
great  accomplishment  in  the  East,  and  those  who  ex- 
celled in  the  art  were  favorites  at  court  as  well  as  in 
other  grades  of  society.  It  sometimes  happened  that 
a  victim  who  had  been  selected  for  capital  punish- 
ment, either  deservedly  or  otherwise,  could  save  his 
life  if  he  could  find  an  opportunity  of  telling  a  pleas- 
ing tale  to  some  official,  who  would  bear  the  news 
of  his  ability  to  the  king.  Royalty  considered  this 


MEHER   AND   MUSHTEIU.  339 

an  easy  method  of  entertainment,  and  the  members 
of  the  harem  as  well  as  the  princes  of  the  courts 
were  often  favored  in  this  way.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pened that  a  favorite  of  the  king  owed  her  position 
in  the  affection  of  his  majesty  to  the  fact  that  she 
could  entertain  him  for  hours  together  with  pleasing 
myths  of  her  own  composition. 

In  the  life  of  Bahrain  Gor,  the  poet  prince,  his 
seven  wives  are  represented  as  competing  with  each 
other  for  the  royal  favor  by  weaving  various  romances 
for  his  amusement.  But  amidst  all  the  literary  rubbish 
which  is  thus  formulated  for  the  public  eye,  there  is 
an  occasional  gem  which  is  well  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion. One  of  these  is  an  affecting  story  of  fraternal 
love  which  was  written  by  Assar,  an  author  of  much 
ability,  although  the  Persian  chronicles  have  preserved 
but  little  concerning  his  life.  The  story  of  Meher  and 
Mushteri  is  considered  the  masterpiece  of  Persian  ro- 
mance, and  as  it  is  deservedly  a  favorite  with  the 
literati  of  the  East,  we  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  story, 
which  in  the  original  fills  a  superb  manuscript  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-four  pages.  It  is  transcribed  in 
beautiful  Nastaalik  characters,  within  lines  of  red, 
blue,  and  gold,  on  paper  which  is  richly  powdered  with 
gold.  The  double  title  page  is  also  richly  ornamented, 
and  the  heads  of  the  chapters  are  illuminated  in  four 
colors,  while  the  text  is  illustrated  with  miniature 
paintings.1  The  plot,  the  characters  and  the  incidents 
are  of  Persian  origin;  the  author  has  chosen,  however, 
to  tell  the  story  in  simpler  form  and  briefer  phrase 
than  any  Persian  writer  would  present  it. 

i  Ousley,  Hiog.  Pers.  Poets,  p.  302. 


340  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

THE    TWO    COMRADES. 

Far  from  the  dangerous  boundaries,  which  were  re- 
peatedly crossed  and  recrossed  by  invading  kings,  stood 
the  beautiful  city  of  Persepolis.  Amidst  the  moun- 
tains of  Persia,  the  foundations  of  her  palaces  were 
laid  upon  the  solid  rock,  and  the  gray  marble  pillars 
reached  upward  to  hold  cornice  and  roof  above  the 
gilded  galleries. 

Within  were  tesselated  floors,  and  fountains  whose 
silvery  spray  was  perfumed  with  the  costly  odors  of 
the  East. 

The  walls  were  hung  with  pictured  annals  of 
earlier  thrones,  and  draped  with  the  richest  tapestries 
of  Persian  looms,  while  silver  urns  gleamed  here  and 
there,  bearing  fragrant  fires  fed  with  costly  sandal 
wood,  or  the  spicy  rods  from  more  distant  lands. 

Beside  this  marble  city  there  flowed  the  river  Pul- 
war. Springing  from  the  dark  mountains  in  the  dis- 
tance, it  came  down  to  water  the  gardens  of  kings  ; 
the  sunlight  tinted  its  waves  with  gold,  the  blossoms 
opened  their  velvet  hearts  upon  its  banks,  and  rich 
odors  were  wafted  from  clusters  of  pink  and  purple. 

The  gray  mountains  stood  like  guardian  kings 
above  the  capital  city,  wearing  crowns  of  snow  and 
the  heavy  forest  grew  around  their  feet. 

Here  were  gathered  the  treasures  of  Persia,  the 
crown  jewels,  and  the  imperial  regalia,  besides  other 
wealth  in  goodly  store ;  but  the  conquering  troops  of 
Alexander  marched  upon  the  mountain  city,  her 
store-houses  were  plundered,  her  palaces  were  de- 
stroyed, and  her  people  massacred  by  the  ruthless  in- 
vader. 


MEHER   AND    MUSHTERI.  341 

It  was  afterward  rebuilt,  and,  under  the  name  of 
Istaker,  it  became  the  capital  of  Shapur,  the  Sas- 
sanian  king,  who  reigned  with  justice  over  his  great 
domain.  He  was  blessed  with  a  Vizir,  who  was  not 
only  wise  and  just,  but  also  most  loyal  to  his  king  ; 
there  was  no  service  that  he  would  not  gladly  perform 
and  by  his  wisdom  and  discretion  he  was  enabled  to 
greatly  lighten  the  responsibilities  of  royalty. 

For  a  long  time  neither  the  king  nor  his  faithful 
Vizir  were  blessed  with  children,  but  after  a  time  a 
son  was  born  to  the  royal  house,  and  while  the  songs 
of  joy  and  shouts  of  congratulation  were  still  ring- 
ing through  the  land,  a  child  was  given  to  the 
grand  Vizir. 

The  young  heir  of  the  Persian  throne  was  named 
Meher  (the  sun),  while  the  son  of  the  Vizir  was  called 
Mushteri,  or  Jupiter.  So  intimate  were  the  relations 
between  the  monarch  and  his  principal  officer,  that 
the  two  beautiful  children  were  brought  up  almost  to- 
gether ;  they  saw  each  other  daily,  even  during  their 
early  chidhood,  and  when  it  was  time  to  educate 
them  they  were  taught  by  the  same  masters.  They 
learned  to  ride,  to  bear  arms,  and  a  little  later  in 
life  they  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  sciences  to- 
gether. A  strong  attachment  sprung  up  between 
them,  and  long  before  they  reached  the  age  of  man- 
hood, they  were  united  to  each  other  by  a  bond  as 
strong  as  that  of  fraternal  love  ;  there  was  no  feeling 
of  superiority  on  the  one  hand,  no  shade  of  envy  on 
the  other,  but  hand  in  hand  with  each  other,  life 
seemed  one  long  dream  of  happiness. 

There  was  one  official,  however,  of  the  king's  house- 


342  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

hold,  who  looked  with  disfavor  upon  this  growing  inti- 
macy, for  in  time  the  young  heir  would  wear  the 
crown  of  Persia,  and  then,  unless  their  friendship 
could  be  destroyed,  the  playmate  of  his  childhood 
would  surely  occupy  the  highest  position  within  the 
gift  of  the  king.  The  politic  father  at  last  succeeded 
in  having  his  own  son  Behram  appointed  as  the 
attendant  of  the  prince,  and  the  son,  who  was  fully 
in  sympathy  with  his  father's  evil  designs,  became  a 
spy  upon  the  conduct  of  his  master.  The  innocent 
boys  worked  or  played  together  in  their  happy  friend- 
ship, all  unconscious  of  the  schemes  of  their  enemies ; 
but  at  last  the  father  of  Behram  succeeded  in  persuad- 
ing the  tutor  of  the  boys,  that  Mushteri  was  not  a 
proper  associate  for  the  heir  of  the  throne.  The  tutor 
was  a  kind  and  benevolent  man,  but  he  was  somewhat 
advanced  in  years,  and  the  testimony  of  Behram  was 
so  strong  and  so  carefully  prepared  that  he  innocently 
fell  into  the  bold  conspiracy,  and  when  requested  to 
do  so  he  informed  the  king  that  the  son  of  the  Grand 
Vizir  was  not  a  suitable  companion  for  the  prince. 

THE    SEPARATION. 

The  monarch  was  greatly  excited  by  the  advice  of 
the  tutor,  and  the  conspirators  took  good  care  that 
other  reports  should  be  borne  to  his  ears  at  the  proper 
time,  so  at  last  he  sent  for  his  faithful  Vizir  and  an- 
grily commanded  him  to  remove  his  son  at  once,  and 
to  see  that  no  further  communication  took  place  be- 
tween the  two  youths. 

The  Vizir  took  steps  to  enforce  the  unreasonable 
decree,  but  he  was  sorely  grieved,  both  by  the  evident 


MERER   AND   MUSHTERI.  343 

cruelty  of  the  command  and  the  unusual  severity  of 
the  monarch,  who  for  years  had  been,  not  only  his 
king,  but  also  his  warm  personal  friend.  The  tutor 
was  ordered  to  attend  the  prince  in  his  own  chambers, 
but  the  unhappy  boy  was  in  no  mood  for  study,  and 
the  work  that  had  given  him  pleasure  when  his  friend 
was  by  his  side  became  so  irksome  that  the  old  tutor 
despaired  of  any  success  in  his  efforts. 

Mushteri  bore  up  bravely  for  a  time  in  his  cruel 
banishment,  but  at  last  he  drooped  beneath  his  long 
suffering  and  fell  seriously  ill.  He  had  a  faithful  at- 
tendant, a  boy  named  Bader,  who  volunteered  to  bring 
to  his  master  some  tidings  from  his  friend,  and  to  this 
end  he  bribed  the  tutor  to  allow  him  to  visit  him 
while  he  was  instructing  the  prince. 

He  thus  obtained  access  to  the  apartments  of  Meher, 
but  Behram,  the  ever  watchful  and  envious  attendant, 
was  constantly  on  the  alert,  and  for  a  long  time  there 
was  no  opportunity  for  Bader  to  communicate  in  any 
way  with  the  prince.  At  last,  however,  Meher  suc- 
ceeded in  writing  to  his  friend,  and  confided  the  let- 
ter to  the  care  of  Bader;  an  occasional  correspondence 
was  thus  carried  on  until  Behram  obtained  one  of  the 
letters,  which  he  hastened  to  lay  before  the  king. 

Finding  that  his  express  commands  were  being  dis- 
obeyed, the  anger  of  the  Shah  knew  no  bounds,  and 
sending  for  Mushteri  and  his  faithful  attendant  he 
ordered  them  both  to  be  executed  in  the  royal  pres- 
ence. Meher  was  also  brought  into  the  presence  of  his 
indignant  father,  and  after  being  bitterly  reproached 
for  his  love  for  his  friend,  the  command  was  given 
that  he  too  should  be  executed.  A  thrill  of  horror 


344  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

rail  through  the  suite  of  attendants  when  they  heard 
this  inhuman  decree,  and  Behzad,  who  was  a  nephew 
of  the  king,  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  monarch 
and  pleaded  for  mercy  for  the  victims  ;  his  plea  was 
treated  with  scorn,  and  for  a  time  it  looked  as  if  the 
intercessor  might  share  in  the  fate  of  the  condemned. 
But  the  brave  boy  was  undaunted  by  the  royal  dis- 
pleasure, and  continued  to  plead,  even  while  he  was 
answered  by  threats,  until  at  last  the  king  consented 
to  pardon  Mushteri  and  Bader  upon  condition  that 
they  leave  the  kingdom  at  once  and  forever,  while  the 
punishment  of  the  prince  was  commuted  to  imprison- 
ment. Still  it  was  feared  that  the  king  might  even 
yet  order  the  culprits  beheaded,  and  Behzad  hastily 
supplied  them  with  wardrobes,  money  and  horses,  ad- 
vising them  to  make  all  possible  haste  in  leaving  the 
Shah's  dominions. 

The  Vizir  was  tenderly  attached  to  the  prince,  and 
knowing  that  he  was  imprisoned  and  constantly  in  the 
power  of  a  father  whose  whole  nature  had  been  changed 
by  evil  associations,  he  grieved  as  much  for  him  as 
for  his  own  banished  boy  ;  he  grieved,  too,  over  the 
estrangement  which  bad  influences  had  been  able  to 
effect  in  the  heart  of  his  royal  friend  towards  himself, 
and  being  advanced  in  years,  his  health  gradually 
failed  beneath  the  weight  of  care  and  suffering. 

One  day  the  news  was  brought  to  the  palace  that 
the  faithful  Vizir  was  dead,  but  so  completely  was  the 
king  in  the  power  of  his  evil  counsellors  that  he 
scarcely  seemed  to  care  for  a  loss  which  would  have 
caused  him  the  greatest  pain  when  his  mind  was  in 
a  normal  condition.  The  faithful  Behzad  was  untir- 


MEHEK   AXD    MCSHTERI.  345 

ing  in  his  efforts  for  the  release  of  the  prince,  and 
the  king  found  also  that  the  mother  of  the  captive 
was  very  far  from  approving  of  the  course  of  her 
husband,  even  though  she  said  very  little  upon  the 
subject,  and  after  a  time  he  was  released.  Finding 
himself  again  at  liberty,  the  prince  paid  no  attention 
to  his  royal  father,  but  he  went  where  his  heart  told 
him  that  he  should  find  a  warm  welcome — to  the 
apartments  of  his  mother. 

THE   QUEEN. 

The  dark-eyed  queen  sat  alone  in  her  splendid 
rooms,  for  she  had  sent  her  maids  away.  Around  her 
was  all  the  beauty  and  luxury  that  art  could  furnish 
or  money  could  purchase  ;  the  ceilings  of  her  apart- 
ments were  wrought  in  the  richest  mosiacs,  and  the 
walls  sparkled  with  designs  which  seemed  to  be  traced 
with  diamonds.1 

The  rooms  were  draped  with  the  richest  portieres 
of  Kerman,  and  the  pure  white  centres  were  sur- 
rounded with  heavy  borders,  where  the  soft  colors  were 
blended  in  floral  design  ;  behind  those  Persian  hang- 
ings were  vases  of  silver  and  gold  where  burned  the 
costly  gums  from  Thibet,  filling  the  air  with  the  fra- 
grance of  incense. 

The  great  windows  opened  into  gardens  where  the 
citrons  and  rose-apples  kept  their  bright  blossoms  and 

i  A  very  popular  style  of  decoration  in  Persia  is  the  kainah-karree  ; 
while  the  plaster  is  yet  soft,  the  surface  is  inlaid  with  minute  mirrors  of 
every  conceivable  shape.  The  amount  of  work  and  skill  necessary  to  inlay 
a  room  in  this  style  is  almost  incalculable,  and  although  the  materials  are 
comparatively  cheap,  the  immense  amount  of  labor  required  make  the 
work  very  expensive.  The  effect,  however,  is  one  of  bewildering  splendor 
as  if  the  light  were  flashed  from  the  polished  facets  of  millions  of  gems. — 
Benjamin,  Persia  and  Persians,  p.  279. 


340  PERSIAX    LITKKATrRE. 

gleaming  fruits,  and  the  broad  leaved  bananas  waved 
their  silken  flags  in  the  sunlight.  There  were  foun- 
tains where  jets  of  water,  smooth  and  unbroken,  gleamed 
like  silver  in  the  sunshine,  and  in  the  marble  basins 
below  them  the  birds  dipped  their  wings  in  the  cooling 
wave,  and  the  bulbul  sang  of  mornings  without  clouds. 

But  amidst  all  the  splendor  which  surrounded  her, 
the  eyes  of  the  queen  were  heavy  with  unshed  tears; 
there  were  no  flowers  in  her  dark  hair,  no  jewels 
upon  her  shapely  neck,  for  her  heart  was  with  her 
lonely  boy  in  his  prison  cell,  and  all  her  womanhood 
rebelled  against  the  cruelty  of  the  Shah.  He  who 
had  been  so  kind,  so  just,  so  loving  in  his  home,  had 
yielded  himself  so  completely  to  the  influence  of  his 
evil  advisers  that  his  whole  character  seemed  trans- 
formed. He  was  no  longer  gentle,  patient  and  loving, 
even  to  his  wife  :  he  was  selfish  and  irritable,  being 
possibly  troubled  with  some  pangs  of  conscience,  al- 
though he  was  a  man  of  such  intense  egotism  that  he 
usually  looked  upon  his  own  conduct  with  the  utmost 
complacency. 

A  gentle  knock  disturbed  the  sad  reverie  of  the 
queen,  and  in  a  moment  more  her  boy  was  in  her 
arms  ;  in  her  splendid  isolation  she  had  not  learned 
of  his  release,  and  the  welcome  that  she  gave  him 
showed  that  he  had  not  been  mistaken  in  the  unfail- 
ing strength  of  mother-love.  Long  they  remained  to- 
gether, talking  softly  of  the  happy  past  and  the  fu- 
ture with  its  threatening  clouds  ;  the  boy  dared  not 
stay  within  reach  of  the  unreasonable  father,  who  was 
liable  at  any  moment  to  throw  him  into  prison,  or 
hasten  him  awav  to  the  executioner,  and  he  was  also 


MEIIER    AND    MUSI1TEKI.  347 

anxious  for  the  fate  of  the  loyal  friend  who  had  suf- 
fered banishment  for  his  sake.  He  was  determined 
therefore  to  leave  the  Shah's  dominions,  and  he  had 
come  to  his  mother  for  her  consent  and  her  blessing. 

It  was  a  sad  trial  to  the  queen,  but  true  love  is 
ever  self-sacrificing,  and  she  could  not  ask  him  to  stay 
in  constant  danger,  preferring  rather  that  he  should 
risk  the  unknown  perils  of  a  strange  land. 

Another  difficulty,  however,  presented  itself.  Meher 
had  no  money,  his  allowance  having  been  cut  off  at 
the  beginning  of  the  trouble  with  his  father,  and  the 
queen  was  no  better  supplied,  for  the  women  of  the 
East  were  not  supposed  to  have  judgment  enough  to 
handle  anything  more  than  the  very  small  amounts 
required  for  the  purchase  of  a  few  trinkets  which 
were  comparatively  worthless. 

At  length,  however,  the  queen  arose  and  went  to 
a  casket  of  jewels,  where  rubies  and  amethysts  re- 
flected their  color  in  the  light  of  diamonds  whose 
purity  seemed  to  mock  the  sunlight.  Taking  up  in 
her  shapely  hands  the  glittering  mass  of  stones,  she 
carried  them  to  her  son  and  begged  him  to  take  them 
all  ;  he  refused  to  do  so,  saying  that  a  very  small  por- 
tion of  these  radiant  gems  would  amply  satisfy  his 
modest  needs.  The  mother,  however,  pressed  upon  him 
a  goodly  share  of  them,  for  they  would  be  current  in 
any  clime,  and  being  small  in  bulk  they  were  easily 
carried.  Hours  were  passed  in  this  last  interview,  for 
the  mother  felt  that  she  might  never  look  into  his 
loved  face  again,  and  she  clung  to  him  wHh  a  devo- 
tion that  would  not  be  denied. 

At    last,   however,    he    was    compelled    to    bid    her 


348  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

adieu,  and  make  his  preparations  for  departure  ;  his 
own  magnificent  Arabian  steed  was  standing  in  the 
royal  stables,  besides  several  other  horses  which  were 
rightfully  his,  though  they  were  usually  mounted  by 
his  attendants.  There  were  also  among  his  friends, 
three  young  men  whose  loyalty  he  knew  that  he  could 
depend  upon,  and  to  them  he  hastily  communicated 
his  wishes ;  these  Persian  youths  were  not  averse  to 
adventure,  and  an  opportunity  to  see  the  great  world 
around  them,  in  the  company  of  the  prince,  was  a 
temptation  which  they  could  not  resist. 

THE    DEPARTURE. 

Softly  the  night  came  over  the  Persian  city,  and 
the  moon  swung  high  above  the  eastern  peaks,  as  the 
cool  air  floated  down  from  the  mountains  and  caught 
the  fragrant  breath  of  the  night-flowers  in  the  valley. 
There  was  the  cautious  tread  of  trained  horses,  for  so 
sensitive  were  the  high-bred  steeds  that  they  caught 
the  spirit  of  their  riders  as  the  little  cavalcade  moved 
slowly  out  of  the  massive  gateway.  The  moonlight 
touched  the  river  with  silver,  and  all  the  sleeping 
land  lay  hushed  in  fragrance,  while  the  prince  and 
his  three  faithful  attendants  rode  slowly  down  beside 
the  stream  and  took  the  road  leading  to  Hindustan. 
Thus  they  journeyed  onward  in  easy  stages  until  they 
reached  the  seaside,  where  merchant-ships  were  trim- 
ming their  white  sails  for  long  voyages ;  here  they 
were  compelled  to  sell  their  horses,  and  the  prince 
stood  long  beside  his  petted  steed,  stroking  the 
shapely  head  and  arching  neck,  while  the  magnifi- 
cent animal  pushed  his  face  closely  to  that  of  his 


MEHER   AND   MUSHTERI.  349 

master,  and  received  the  caresses  with  sadness,  as  if 
he  too  knew  that  a  long  separation  was  coming.  The 
dark  eyes  of  Meher  were  heavy  with  tears  as  he 
bade  his  faithful  horse  good  bye,  and  stepped  upon 
the  ship  that  was  to  bear  him  far  away  from  his 
home,  and  far  away  from  the  loving  mother  who  wept 
alone  in  her  splendid  apartments. 

THE    ANNOUNCEMENT. 

In  the  rich  audience  room  of  the  Persian  palace 
the  Shah  was  seated  upon  the  massive  throne,  and 
robed  in  royal  raiment ;  he  was  holding  a  council 
with  his  high  officials,  when  a  messenger  was  an- 
nounced who  bore  news  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  king.  Then  he  learned  that  the  heir  of  his 
throne  had  deserted  his  domain,  and  was  perhaps 
even  now  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuit.  The  anger 
of  the  monarch  was  so  uncontrolled  that  his  court 
officials  were  paralyzed  with  fear,  knowing  that  any 
one  of  them  who  spoke  an  unfortunate  word  might 
be  hurried  away  to  the  executioner.  But  his  rage 
soon  gave  way  to  the  most  heart-rending  grief,  and 
he  demanded  that  he  be  carried  at  once  to  the  apart- 
ments of  his  wife.  Half  fainting  and  wholly  help- 
less, he  was  taken  through  the  luxurious  halls  and 
fragrant  gardens  to  the  rooms  of  the  queen.  Here 
he  was  laid  upon  the  soft  couch,  rich  with  its  costly 
cushions  and  embroidered  hangings  ;  the  anger  of  the 
indignant  woman  was  softened  by  his  evident  suffer- 
ing, and  she  ministered  gently  to  his  needs,  and  lis- 
tened to  his  wailings  for  his  only  child.  His  pride 
was  broken  and  his  vindictivcness  conquered,  for  he 


350  PERSIAN   LITEKATUBE. 

could  see  only  a  cruel  death  for  the  unfortunate  fugi- 
tive, who  knew  so  little  how  to  care  for  himself  among 
the  barbarous  tribes  whither  he  had  doubtless  gone. 

For  many  hours  he  lay  thus,  and  when  he  re- 
turned the  next  day  to  the  duties  of  his  court,  it 
was  only  to  be  approached  by  the  hypocritical  Beh- 
ram,  who  was  ever  on  the  watch  for  an  opportunity 
to  promote  his  own  interests  at  the  expense  of 
others. 

He  came  into  the  royal  presence  affecting  the 
greatest  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  young  master,  and 
pleaded  with  the  Shah  for  an  expensive  outfit,  that 
he  might  follow  him  and  bring  him  back. 

"Give  me,"  said  he,  "a,  caravan,  in  order  that  I 
may  pass  for  a  merchant,  and  thus  travel  without 
suspicion  through  the  country,  and  I  will  find  my 
young  master  or  lose  my  life  in  the  attempt." 

"  My  ever  faithful  servant,"  replied  the  king,  "  I 
will  give  thee  camels  and  money  and  goods  and  slaves, 
and  thou  shalt  follow  him  even  to  the  far  countries 
beyond  my  realm  ;  if  he  is  alive  thou  wilt  bring 
him  back,  for  I  know  that  I  can  depend  upon  thy 
loyalty  to  thy  young  master." 

Only  a  few  days  elapsed  before  a  costly  caravan 
was  equipped,  and  Behram  passed  through  the  gates 
of  the  city  with  a  long  line  of  camels  laden  with 
rich  merchandise,  and  twenty  slaves  to  do  his  bid- 
ding. He  went  exulting  on  his  mission,  for  if  he 
found  and  returned  the  fugitive  he  was  sure  of  a 
rich  reward,  while  if  he  failed  he  had  wealth  enough 
in  his  caravan  to  enable  him  to  live  in  affluence  in 
other  lands  far  beyond  the  power  of  the  Shah. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 

THE    EXILES — THE    DESERT — A   SHIPWRECK— THE   RESCUE 
— THE   CAPTURE. 

MUSHTERI  and  his  solitary  companion  passed  out 
of  the  city  by  the  light  of  the  morning  sun 
on  the  day  after  their  release,  for  except  a  few  faith- 
ful friends  there  were  none  who  cared  whither  the 
victims  of  the  Shah's  displeasure  might  go,  as  long 
as  they  obeyed  the  royal  edict. 

The  sorrowful  exiles  rode  slowly  onward,  all  un- 
mindful of  the  beauty  of  the  morning,  which  was 
gilding  with  glory  the  crowns  of  the  palm-trees. 
They  were  leaving  behind  them  all  that  they  held 
most  dear,  and  going  forth  into  the  world  with  no 
provision  for  the  future,  save  the  little  sum  that  the 
generous  Behziid  had  been  able  to  provide. 

Merely  to  gratify  the  unreasonable  whim  of  a  royal 
autocrat,  they  were  thus  banished  from  home  and 
friends,  and  with  hearts  full  of  bitterness  they  scarcely 
cared  whither  they  went. 

They  had  taken  the  road  to  Isfahan,  but  before 
they  reached  the  city  they  saw  in  the  distance  an  old 
gray  castle  which  looked  as  if  it  had  withstood  the 
storms  of  centuries,  and  with  half  a  mind  to  test  the 
hospitality  of  the  occupants,  they  reined  their  horses 

351 


352  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

toward  it.  The  castle  gates  were  opened  as  if  some 
kindly  eye  had  noted  their  coming,  but  a  little  band 
of  horsemen  issued  therefrom,  and,  fearing  some  un- 
friendly act,  the  travelers  turned  away.  Their  cau- 
tion came  too  late,  for  in  a  moment  more  they  were 
attacked  and  overpowered  by  the  banditti,  and  being 
bound  they  were  carried  captive  to  the  castle  where 
they  had  hoped  for  a  kindly  reception. 

Here  they  were  robbed  of  every  article  of  value 
upon  their  persons,  and  an  order  was  issued  for  their 
execution ;  but  behind  the  Persian  hangings  of  the 
castle  hall  there  were  white  hands  moving  nervously 
amidst  the  rich  colors  of  silken  embroidery,  and  a 
woman's  heart  listened  breathlessly  to  the  cruel  death 
sentence. 

Then  the  beautiful  wife  of  the  chief  went  to  her 
room,  and  sent  a  messenger  into  the  council  of  the 
banditti  with  an  urgent  summons  for  the  presence  of 
her  lord. 

"  How  canst  thou  be  so  cruel  ? "  she  demanded 
with  flashing  eyes,  "hast  thou  not  robbed  these  ill- 
fated  youths  of  every  jewel  upon  their  persons — nay 
hast  thou  not  even  taken  the  most  costly  articles  from 
their  wardrobes  ?  Why  shouldst  thou  add  to  thy 
guilt  the  crime  of  murder  ? "  Half  ashamed  of  his 
cruel  decree,  and  wholly  afraid  of  forfeiting  the  re- 
spect of  his  wife,  the  chieftain  promised  to  commute 
their  punishment,  and  hastily  returning  to  the  castle 
hall  he  demanded  that  the  captives  be  taken  to  the 
desert  and  abandoned  without  food  amidst  its  pitiless 
sands. 


METIER   AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  353 

THE   DESERT. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  Mushteri  and  his  faith- 
ful Bader  found  themselves  alone  and  destitute  in  a 
desert  where  no  caravans  might  pass  for  many  months 
• — where  no  palm-tree  lifted  its  plumes  in  the  distance, 
to  tell  of  the  spring  in  the  oasis  beneath  its  feet. 
The  evening  was  cool  and  restful,  even  in  the  desert, 
and  the  exiles  slept,  for  their  lives  were  spared,  and 
though  their  chance  was  small,  it  was  surely  better 
than  certain  death. 

But  the  sun  arose  as  if  in  anger,  and  as  it  climbed 
higher  and  higher  the  air  became  hot  as  that  crimson 
haze,  by  which  the  prostrate  caravan  is  often  buried 
in  the  red  desert,  when  the  simoon  is  abroad  on  its 
mission  of  death.  They  wandered  hopelessly,  looking 
in  vain  for  some  sign  of  an  oasis,  until  overpowered 
by  the  intense  heat,  Mushteri,  still  weak  from  recent 
illness,  fell  upon  the  burning  sand.  Then  Bader  bent 
above  him,  trying  to  shield  him  from  the  pitiless  sun 
as  far  as  possible,  by  the  shelter  of  his  own  body, 
and  thus  they  remained  until  night  came  down  again 
with  its  cooling  shadows.  They  passed  day  after  day 
in  terrible  suffering,  until  all  hope  of  relief  had  fled, 
and  they  awaited  the  coming  of  death  with  hope 
rather  than  fear. 

The  faithful  Bader  was  no  longer  able  to  shield  his 
master  with  his  own  body,  but  lay  helpless  by  his  side, 
when  the  sun  again  came  forth  from  the  chambers 
of  the  east  and  began  to  beat  upon  them  with  appar- 
ently redoubled  fury  ;  but  the  boy  raised  his  head  to 
search  once  more  the  fiery  horizon,  and  in  the  dis- 
tance he  seemed  to  see  the  figure  of  a  camel.  He 


354  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

wondered  if  the  delirium  of  deatli  was  cheating  him 
with  a  hope  of  deliverance,  and  he  gazed  until  an- 
other seemed  to  appear  behind  the  first;  then  he 
aroused  Mushteri  by  telling  him  of  his  great  hope, 
and  together  they  watched  what  seemed  to  be  the 
slow  coming  of  a  caravan.  After  a  time  a  long  line 
of  camels  could  be  seen  moving  patiently  and  wear- 
ily over  the  heated  sands,  but  they  were  not  coming 
directly  toward  the  exiles,  and  unless  they  could 
change  their  position  considerably,  the  caravan  must 
pass  them  far  to  the  southward.  With  an  effort  they 
struggled  to  their  feet,  and  Bader,  who  was  still  the 
stronger,  partially  supported  Mushteri,  while  they 
slowly  and  painfully  traveled  toward  the  line  of  the 
caravan's  march.  They  could  now  see  that  the  cam- 
els were  laden,  apparently  with  goods,  and  it  was 
probably  some  merchant's  expedition  returning  from 
a  long  journey. 

They  tried  to  call  attention  by  waving  their  hands, 
but  their  efforts  remained  unnoticed,  and  Mushteri 
sank  once  more  with  exhaustion.  Bader  could  now 
see  no  hope  of  deliverance,  but  the  master  insisted 
that  his  attendant  should  push  onward,  leaving  him 
to  be  rescued  when  the  caravan  had  been  reached  ; 
reluctantly  he  did  so,  and  Mushteri  anxiously  watched 
his  friend  as  he  slowly  approached  the  line  of  march, 
trying  with  frantic  gesture  to  attract  their  attention. 
Would  he  succeed,  or  must  they  die  within  the  very 
sight  of  aid  ?  At  last  the  foremost  camel  turned  his 
head,  and  courage  revived  the  efforts  of  the  man  who 
was  struggling  toward  him,  while  hope  lighted  the 
heart  of  the  faint  watcher  upon  the  desert  sands ;  but 


MEHEB  AND   MUSHTERt,    CONTINUED.  355 

the  camel  turned  away  again  and  with  long  swinging 
step  resumed  his  way  to  the  southward — nay,  he 
seemed  to  lengthen  and  quicken  his  pace,  while  his 
head  pointed  straight  towards  the  horizon  as  if  the 
wide  nostrils  were  drinking  in  the  welcome  smell  of 
water.  A  cloud  had  been  gathering  in  the  west,  and 
when  it  floated  over  the  blazing  sun  the  soft  shades 
of  gray  brought  relief  to  the  strained  eye  and  a  pass- 
ing shelter  from  the  fierceness  of  the  heat.  It 
seemed  to  give  new  life  to  Bader,  and  he  struggled  on 
with  renewed  hope,  passing  slowly  over  the  long 
reaches  of  sand  which  were  sometimes  smooth  as 
the  beaten  beach,  and  again  were  heaped  together  in 
long  ridges  like  the  drifted  snow  of  a  northern  clime. 
At  last  a  driver  turned  his  head,  and  fancied  that 
he  saw  a  dark  object  upon  the  pathless  tract ;  he 
looked  again,  thinking  there  were  signs  of  life,  then 
he  called  to  his  companion,  and  the  two  drivers  gazed 
until  they  were  sure  it  was  a  man  upon  the  desert 
waste;  a  halt  was  called,  and  then  the  course  of  the 
caravan  was  slightly  changed,  and  the  line  bore  down 
toward  Bader.  He  was  sure  it  was  coming,  and  the 
reaction  was  so  strong  upon  his  exhausted  frame  that 
he  fainted  before  it  reached  him,  but  onward  came 
the  great  camels  careening  like  ships  on  the  sea  of 
sand,  swinging  forward  with  long  elastic  tread  ;  noise- 
lessly they  came,  keeping  the  line  so  exactly  that 
they  all  seemed  to  step  in  the  very  tracks  of  the 
leader.  The  exhausted  man  was  taken  up  and  a 
gurglet  of  skin  containing  water  was  brought  from 
their  stores,  when  the  kindly  leader  sponged  the  face 
and  hands  of  the  exile ;  a  little  of  the  precious  water 


356  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

was  forced  down  his  throat  and  then  nature  caught 
eagerly  at  the  great  restorative  and  he  drank  of  the 
life-giving  fluid. 

The  owner  of  the  caravan  was  Mohiar,  a  Persian 
merchant,  and  he  quickly  ordered  food  for  the  suf- 
ferer ;  out  of  the  strange  baskets,  closely  woven  from 
the  fibers  of  the  palm,  they  took  dates  and  Syrian 
pomegranates,  'wine  in  gurglets  of  skin,  and  meats 
which  were  dried  and  smoked,  but  Bader,  being  un- 
able to  eat  or  to  speak,  was  placed  in  a  cot  sus- 
pended by  the  side  of  a  camel,  and  the  caravan  made 
ready  to  depart. 

They  had  traveled  a  little  way  before  the  agonized 
man  was  enabled  to  tell  them  that  his  friend  lay 
dying  on  the  desert  sands  ;  then  the  line  was  turned 
again,  and  soon  Mushteri  heard  the  tinkling  bells 
fastened  to  the  brazen  chains  of  the  camels ;  soon  he 
saw  their  long  slender  necks  and  the  scarlet  fringe 
upon  the  bridle  across  their  foreheads  ;  he  saw  them, 
but  in  a  dazed,  indifferent  way,  as  if  it  mattered 
little  to  him  whence  they  came  or  whither  they  went. 
But  in  a  moment  more  he  was  raised  in  strong  arms, 
and  water,  life-giving  water,  passed  over  his  face  and 
was  poured  down  his  swollen  throat.  They  were  soon 
able  to  taste  of  refreshing  fruits,  and  then  the  car- 
avan moved  on  its  course,  carrying  the  exiles  upon 
restful  cushions,  while  above  them  was  stretched  a 
kindly  shade.  That  night  they  rested  beside  a  cool 
spring  and  beneath  the  trees  of  an  oasis ;  the  gener- 
ous Mohiar  ordered  a  stay  of  a  few  days  at  the  feet 
of  the  cooling  palms  that  his  own  men,  and  espe- 
cially the  weakened  exiles,  might  become  refreshed. 


MEHER  AND   MUSHTEUI,    CONTINUED.  357 

They  were    then  taken   beyond   the    desert  boundaries 
and  generously  entertained  at  the  city  of  their  host. 

A   SHIPWRECK. 

Although  in  the  care  of  hospitable  friends  they 
were  still  in  the  dominions  of  the  Shah,  and  liable 
at  any  moment  to  be  apprehended  and  punished ; 
therefore  as  soon  as  they  were  strong  enough  their 
host  provided  them  with  a  little  money,  and  with  his 
own  horses  carried  them  down  to  the  shores  of  the 
Caspian  Sea,  where  a  ship  was  standing  in  port,  ready 
to  start  on  a  trading  voyage  to  other  lands. 

Fearful  of  losing  this  opportunity  they  had  trav- 
eled all  the  latter  part  of  the  night,  and  they  stepped 
upon  the  deck  of  the  merchant-ship  in  the  early 
morning.  After  they  had  bidden  their  friends  fare- 
well, Miibhteri  turned  thoughtfully  toward  the  soft 
green  waves  beyond  him  and  said  to  his  friend  : 
"Surely  here  is  a  welcome  change  from  the  desert 
waste ;  the  cooling  breath  of  the  water  has  a  caress- 
ing touch,  and  the  morning  light  is  strewing  the 
sea  with  opals." 

"'Ah,  yes!"  replied  Bader,  "the  sea  hath  no 
perils  like  the  desert  heat, — better  the  cooling  wave, 
even  though  it  wraps  our  dying  limbs  than  the  hot 
breath  of  the  simoon,  and  a  terrible  death  amidst  the 
bleaching  bones  of  perished  caravans." 

Soon  the  order  was  given  to  raise  the  anchor,  and 
with  a  merry  shout  the  sailors  sprang  to  their  task ; 
the  ship  drifted  outward,  slowly  at  first,  and  then  as 
her  sails  caught  the  welcome  breeze  she  sped  over  the 
waves  like  a  thing  of  life. 


358  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

The  exiles  felt  that  they  were  at  last  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  unreasonable  monarch,  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  Persian  banditti,  and  far  from  the  torrents  of 
burning  sand  rolling  before  the  desert  winds,  and 
they  looked  into  each  other's  eyes  with  renewed  hope 
and  gratitude.  Day  after  day  passed  by  in  restful 
calm,  but  the  water  itself  was  an  ever-changing  pic- 
ture to  the  loving  eye  of  Mushteri ;  the  early  morn- 
ing found  him  always  on  the  deck  watching  the  waves 
and  listening  to  the  changing  voices  of  the  sea. 

One  night  he  sat  alone  at  his  favorite  post,  even 
the  faithful  Bader  had  grown  weary  and  gone  to  his 
nightly  rest,  but  Mushteri  was  watching  the  evening 
star,  that  seemed  to  lie  cool  and  dim  in  the  moving 
water ;  the  young  moon  was  swinging  high  in  the 
heavens,  while  her  faint  light  touched  the  waves  with 
silver  and  gleamed  on  the  white  wings  of  the  night- 
birds.  But  a  quick  wind  caught  the  sail  and  a  cloud 
swept  over  the  face  of  the  moon,  the  sailors  sprang 
to  their  posts  and  orders  were  hastily  given.  A 
storm  was  gathering  in  the  eastern  sky  and  soon  the 
sails  were  reefed  and  the  good  ship  was  placed  in  readi- 
ness to  ride  out  as  best  she  could  the  coming  peril, 

The  Persian  youth  had  no  thought  now  of  leaving 
his  post ;  if  the  sea  had  been  beautiful  in  her  peace- 
ful sleep,  how  much  grander  was  the  picture  when 
the  storm-spirit  swept  her  waves  into  a  fury, — when 
the  wind  smote  the  rigging  like  the  edge  of  a  hissing 
spear  and  the  breakers  dashed  angrily  against  the 
hull.  As  the  danger  grew  more  imminent  he  went 
below  and  aroused  Bader,  but  even  while  they  were 
coming  on  the  deck  he  perceived  that  the  storm  was 


MEHER   AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  359 

increasing  in  fury  and  the  gale  was  driving  the  help- 
less ship  before  it. 

They  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  blast,  and  soon  a 
fearful  shock  told  the  story  of  the  good  ship's  doom : 
she  had  struck  a  rocky  coast  and  rapidly  her  timbers 
parted.  The  two  exiles  were  thrown  together  into 
the  water,  but  after  a  few  minutes  of  struggling  and 
swimming,  Mushteri  caught  a  floating  beam  and  at  last 
succeeded  in  getting  himself  and  Bader  to  this  posi- 
tion of  temporary  safety.  The  storm  still  raged,  but 
they  clung  to  this  their  only  hope  of  life,  while  the 
greater  part  of  the  passengers  and  crew  were  drowned 
around  them. 

At  last  the  tempest  had  exhausted  its  fury ;  the 
winds  moaned  over  the  angry  billows  and  the  sorrow- 
ing sea-birds  wept ;  the  morning  star  gleamed  behind 
the  passing  clouds,  but  it  looked  upon  a  scene  of  des- 
olation. After  striking  the  coast  the  ship  had  floated 
back  in  fragments,  while  here  and  there  a  human 
being  clung  to  a  portion  of  the  wreck,  but  they  were 
now  too  far  from  the  shore  to  be  able  to  reach  it, 
and  there  was  little  hope  that  they  would  be  seen  and 
rescued.  All  day  they  tossed  upon  the  waves — all  day 
they  looked  anxiously  for  aid,  but  night  came  down 
without  hope,  and  another  morning  found  them  still  at 
the  mercy  of  the  waters.  A  beautiful  land  covered 
with  stately  trees  lay  like  a  mirage  in  the  distance, 
but  no  friendly  wave  carried  them  to  the  shore. 

THE    RESCUE. 

The  king  of  Derbend  was  hunting  on  the  coast, 
and  the  wild  gor  that  he  was  pursuing  ran  close  to 


360  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  water's  edge,  where  he  received  the  fatal  arrow 
before  the  king's  suite  had  overtaken  the  royal  rider. 
While  the  monarch  waited  the  coming  of  his  attend- 
ants he  rested  beneath  a  tree  and  looked  out  upon 
the  waste  of  waters ;  there  he  saw  fragments  of  the 
wreck,  and  looking  more  closely  he  fancied  there 
were  human  beings  beyond.  When  his  suite  came  up 
he  ordered  a  boat  to  be  manned,  and  soon  the  vic- 
tims of  the  storm  were  gathered  upon  his  hospitable 
shore ;  they  were  chilled,  exhausted,  and  some  of 
them  died  even  there  beneath  the  friendly  hands  that 
strove  to  bring  the  life-tide  back. 

Mushteri  and  his  friend  were  among  the  survivors 
and  they  became  the  guests  of  the  generous  king, 
who  soon  learned  their  story  and  took  them  to  his 
palace  home  not  far  from  the  shore. 

Their  way  lay  through  the  low  lands,  where  the 
tall  bamboos  bristled  like  spears  in  the  battle  ranks, 
but  afterward  the  road  was  shaded  with  green-plumed 
dates  and  bel-trees,  gorgeous  with  their  crimson  blos- 
soms. The  palace  itself  was  placed  in  gardens  where 
the  blossoms  hung  in  silvery  sprays  on  the  mango- 
trees,  and  the  many  colored  fountains  played  like 
broken  rainbows  in  marble  basins.  Within  those 
royal  courts  it  was  a  maze  of  light  and  loveliness ; 
music  from  pipe  and  lute  was  borne  through  the  cool 
casement,  and  beautiful  dancing  girls  seemed  to  float 
through  the  soft  measures.  In  the  whirl  of  these 
graceful  motions  one  could  see  rings  and  pearls  and 
emeralds  shining  everywhere,  while  round  the  white 
necks  of  the  dancers  hung  necklaces  of  diamonds  that 
glowed  like  fire  in  the  light  of  many  lamps. 


ME1IEK   AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  361 

Such  was  the  scene  that  greeted  the  eyes  of  the 
exiles  when,  after  being  provided  with  food  and  rai- 
ment, they  were  ushered  into  the  home  of  their 
newly-found  friend,  and  the  air  of  rest  and  luxury 
was  most  grateful  to  the  exhausted  travelers. 

Long  they  tarried-  as  the  guests  of  their  royal 
host,  but  the  heart  of  Mushteri  was  never  at  rest; 
he  grieved  for  his  lost  friend,  and  not  even  the  lux- 
uries of  a  court  could  in  any  way  atone  for  his  ab- 
sence. Grateful  for  the  kindness  of  the  king,  he  was 
still  wasting  away  in  very  grief  for  the  companion  of 
his  childhood  ;  Bader  sought  in  vain  to  cheer  him,  to 
divert  his  thoughts  with  the  luxury  everywhere 
around  him,  but  Mushteri  was  ever  haunted  by  a  con- 
viction that  somewhere,  at  sometime,  the  happy  com- 
panionship would  be  renewed,  and  he  seemed  to  live 
only  in  this  great  hope. 

Persian  traders  were  sometimes  found  even  in  the 
dominions  of  the  king  of  Derbend,  and  when  the 
news  came  to  the  court  that  the  heir  of  the  Persian 
throne  had  deserted  his  inheritance,  Mushteri  de- 
termined to  either  find  his  friend  or  lose  his  life  in 
the  attempt. 

No  offer  of  the  kindly  king  could  tempt  him  to 
remain  longer  in  idle  luxury,  and,  still  accompanied 
by  the  faithful  Bader,  he  set  out  to  cross  the  great 
mountain  range  that  seemed  to  separate  him  from  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Day  after  day  they  toiled  over  the 
rugged  heights,  and  night  after  night  they  slept  be- 
side the  sheltering  rock  ;  at  last  they  had  passed  the 
summit,  but  the  descent  on  the  other  side  was  scarcely 
less  difficult  and  dangerous. 


362  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

After  a  time  however,  they  reached  the  beautiful 
valley  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  range,  and  then  it 
seemed  that  their  toil  was  abundantly  rewarded,  for 
here  were  trees  laden  with  fruit,  and  vines,  which 
were  burdened  with  clusters  of  gold  and  purple. 
Here  were  mango-trees  and  orange  blossoms,  while 
the  river  that  flowed  beside  them  seemed  fragrant  with 
the  breath  of  her  newly  blown  lilies. 

Wearied  with  their  long  and  tiresome  journey,  they 
made  their  simple  couch  in  the  shade  of  a  great  tree, 
and  lay  down  to  find  refreshing' slumber. 

THE   CAPTURE. 

When  the  cool  and  malicious  Behram  left  the  do- 
minions of  the  Persian  king,  not  only  supplied  with 
money  but  also  in  possession  of  a  rich  caravan,  he 
cared  very  little  whether  or  not  he  ever  found  the 
fugitive  prince ;  but  he  determined  to  find  a  safe  re- 
treat for  himself,  where  he  could  enjoy  his  ill-gotten 
gains,  far  from  the  hope  of  successful  pursuit  by  the 
agents  of  the  Shah.  He  therefore  pursued  his  way 
by  a  safe  route  and  easy  stages  to  a  distant  province. 

His  caravan  encamped  for  the  night  a  few  miles 
out  of  the  city  of  Kharizm  ;  the  heavy  loads  of  mer- 
chandise were  removed  from  the  backs  of  the  camels, 
and  food  was  taken  from  the  baskets  of  palm  leaves, 
but  finding  the  water  of  the  river  near  them  was 
somewhat  foul,  Behram  sent  two  slaves  nearer  to  the 
fountain  head  of  the  stream  for  a  supply.  They 
walked  slowly  toward  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where 
the  stream  gushed  in  a  silvery  torrent  from  the 
rocks,  and  .soon  they  were  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 


ME1IER   AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  363 

fruits  and  flowers,  where  Mushteri  and  his  faithful 
attendant  had  found  repose.  They  gazed  for  a  few 
moments  upon  the  lovely  scene,  and  quickly  decided 
that  if  their  master  would  consent  to  remove  the 
camp,  this  would  be  a  more  desirable  locality,  as 
there  was  not  only  an  abundance  of  pure  water  but 
also  a  bountiful  supply  of  fruits.  As  they  were  turn- 
ing however  to  go  back,  after  having  filled  their 
leathern  gurglets  with  water,  one  of  them  saw  two 
men  under  a  tree  apparently  asleep  ;  fearing  that  they 
might  be  in  the  vicinity  of  a  powerful  foe,  they  ap- 
proached cautiously  to  learn  at  least  the  nationality 
of  their  new  neighbors.  The  wearied  sleepers  remained 
unconscious  of  their  careful  approach  and  after  a  time 
they  came  nearer ;  they  had  already  discovered  the  men 
were  Persians,  and  a  closer  scrutiny  convinced  them 
that  the  faces  which  they  looked  upon  were  none 
other  than  those  of  Mushteri  and  Bader. 

Hastening  back  to  their  master  with  this  informa- 
tion, their  message  was  received  with  incredulity,  but 
nevertheless,  Behram  made  haste  to  go  into  the  val- 
ley with  eight  of  his  strongest  slaves,  while  the  others 
remained  with  the  camels  and  merchandise.  When 
he  saw  that  Mushteri  and  Bader  were  really  lying  be- 
fore him,  his  malignant  eyes  flashed  with  triumphant 
malice,  and  quickly  giving  a  whispered  order,  the 
young  exiles  were  partially  bound,  even  before  they 
wakened. 

Being  aroused  by  the  handling  of  their  captors, 
they  found  themselves  utterly  helpless  in  the  power  of 
their  most  dreaded  foe,  but  even  in  this  condition 
they  scorned  to  ask  for  mercy  which  they  knew  would 


364  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

be  denied  them.  Behram  ordered  a  slave  to  go  back 
to  the  old  encampment  with  the  message  that  the 
camels  and  goods  should  be  brought  to  the  newly 
chosen  ground,  and  when  the  campfires  were  lighted, 
the  camels  fed,  and  the  wants  of  both  master  and 
slaves  provided  for,  the  beautiful  valley  witnessed  a 
cruel  scene. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 
MEHER   AND   MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 

THE   FUGITIVES — ROYAL   INTERVIEWS — THE     CONFLICT — 
A    GARDEN   SCENE — AFTERWARDS— THE   DECISION. 

IT  was  a  ship  belonging  to  a  distant  province 
that  carried  the  Persian  prince  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  angry  Shah,  and  after  a  long  trading  voyage, 
during  which  they  battled  with  angry  seas  and  perilous 
rocks,  they  landed  upon  the  friendly  coast. 

The  commander  was  also  a  merchant,  and  he  bore 
the  name  of  Sherf ;  he  had  become  greatly  attached 
to  the  prince  during  the  weeks  they  had  spent 
together,  even  though  he  knew  not  of  his  royal  rank, 
for  Meher  had  given  strict  orders  to  his  attendants 
that  no  hint  of  his  identity  should  be  given  ;  he  was 
known,  therefore,  simply  as  a  Persian  youth,  who, 
with  his  companions,  had  chosen  to  seek  his  fortune 
in  travel. 

On  his  arrival  in  port  the  merchant  sold  his  ship, 
and  fitting  out  a  large  caravan  he  made  ready  for  the 
journey  to  his  native  city.  He  warmly  urged  the 
prince  and  his  friends  to  join  his  party,  and  Meher 
consented  to  do  so,  not  only  because  of  the  greater 
safety  thus  afforded,  but  also  because  he  disliked  to  be 
separated  from  his  newly  found  friend. 

The  known  wealth  of  the  merchant  caravan,  how- 
ever, was  a  source  of  danger,  as  the  country  was 

385 


366  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

infested  with  banditti,  and  they  were  only  three  days' 
journey  from  the  coast  when  a  night  attack  was  made 
upon  the  encampment ;  the  men  were  hastily  awakened 
by  the  guard  ;  but  in  the  confusion  of  the  darkness 
the  well-planned  assault  proved  only  too  successful,  and 
with  one  daring  raid  much  valuable  merchandise  was 
seized,  and  several  men  left  in  a  wounded  and  dying 
condition.  Meher  sprang  to  his  horse,  and  calling  to 
his  attendants  to  follow,  he  rode  away  in  bold  pursuit 
of  the  banditti,  who  were  only  a  few  minutes  ahead 
of  him ;  his  horse  was  in  good  condition,  and  the  rider 
well  trained,  but  the  banditti  knew  every  inch  of  the 
ground  which  was  new  to  their  pursuers,  and  they 
were  thus  enabled  to  pursue  a  circuitous  path  which, 
for  a  time,  baffled  them. 

After  a  long  chase  in  the  darkness,  however,  they 
were  overtaken,  and  a  desperate  struggle  ensued. 
Meher  had  been  followed,  not  only  by  his  own  attend- 
ants, but  a  few  of  the  more  daring  among  the  servants 
of  Sherf  had  also  answered  to  his  call.  The  banditti 
were  armed  only  with  arrows  and  spears,  while  the 
prince  and  his  attendants  carried  the  best  Persian  fire- 
arms, and  the  men  of  the  caravan  were  also  well 
equipped,  or  would  have  been,  but  for  the  suddenness 
of  the  attack. 

The  banditti  were  overpowered,  for  they  had  de- 
pended largely  upon  the  panic  they  caused  for  an  op- 
portunity to  make  their  escape  in  the  darkness,  and 
their  quivers  were  only  partially  filled  with  arrows. 
The  prince  had  been  carefully  trained  in  the  use  of 
his  weapons,  and  his  quick  and  repeated  firing  brought 
man  after  man  to  the  ground,  and  though  several  of 


MEHER   AND    MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  367 

his  own  party  had  fallen,  he  soon  had  the  robbers  in 
his  power,  lie  then  demanded  the  stolen  property, 
which  was  surrendered  ;  but  not  satisfied  with  this,  he 
determined  that  they  should  pay  more  dearly  for  their 
baseness,  and  he  required  the  stolen  jewels  which  he 
knew  must  be  hidden  upon  their  persons,  and  also 
their  finest  horses.  They  protested  that  they  had  no 
jewels,  but  the  argument  which  demanded  their  treas- 
ures or  their  lives  was  inexorable,  and  the  pursuers 
bore  away  more  than  double  the  wealth  which  had 
been  stolen.  The  morning  dawned  before  they  reached 
the  encampment,  and  then  the  prince  divided  the 
booty  among  the  servants  of  Sherf,  who  had  bravely 
followed  him  in  the  hour  of  peril.  The  wounded  men 
were  carried  to  the  camp,  and  they  received  a  double 
share  of  the  spoils. 

The  owner  of  the  caravan  was  more  than  grateful, 
for  he  knew  that  he  could  never  have  recovered  the 
property  but  for  the  bravery  of  the  gallant  strangers. 

His  admiration  for  Meher  knew  no  bounds,  and 
when  order  was  again  restored  and  the  line  of  march 
resumed,  he  declared  that  only  one  woman  in  the 
world  was  worthy  to  be  his  wife,  and  that  was  the 
beautiful  princess  Nahid,  the  daughter  of  the  king  of 
Kharizm. 

Meher  answered  that  his  whole  anxiety  at  present 
was  to  find  a  dearly  loved  friend,  and  when  that  was 
accomplished  perhaps  he  might  think  of  marriage. 

On  their  arrival  at  the  city,  Sherf  insisted  that 
Meher  and  his  friends  should  take  up  their  abode  in 
his  own  spacious  home,  and  for  the  time  being  they 
consented  to  do  so. 


368  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

The  next  day  the  prince  visited  the  public  bath, 
and  his  splendid  physique  won  the  admiration  of  all 
beholders,  greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  friend. 
The  merchant,  on  his  return  from  his  long  journey, 
went  to  the  court  of  King  Keiwan,  and  laid  costly 
gifts  at  his  feet,  as  was  the  custom  on  the  comple- 
tion of  a  successful  expedition.  The  king  was  anxious 
to  hear  the  adventures  of  the  traveler,  and  listened 
long  to  the  story  of  his  voyage  and  wonderful  escapes. 

The  merchant  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  thus 
communicate  with  the  king,  and  always  loyal  to  Meher 
he  related  at  length  the  story  of  the  night  attack, 
and  the  daring  pursuit  of  the  Persian  youth,  who  suc- 
ceeded not  only  in  restoring  the  property  of  his  host, 
but  also  in  gaining  from  the  banditti  a  rich  reward 
for  the  servants  who  so  bravely  responded  to  his  call. 

ROYAL   INTERVIEWS. 

The  king  was  greatly  interested  in  the  gallant 
stranger,  and  he  immediately  sent  a  chamberlain  to 
request  his  presence  at  court. 

Meher  stepped  with  easy  grace  into  the  royal  pres- 
ence and  saluted  with  due  courtesy,  but  there  was  no 
fear  in  his  manner,  no  awkwardness  in  the  salute,  and 
the  keen-eyed  monarch  saw  at  once  that  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  the  presence  of  royalty,  and  suspected  that 
he  carried  noble  blood  in  his  veins. 

He  was  most  graciously  received,  and  after  a  long 
conversation  the  king  presented  him  with  a  beautiful 
horse ;  delighted  with  the  gift,  Meher  sprang  to  the 
saddle,  and  rode  away  like  the  prince  that  he  was, 
while  the  king  looked  admiringly  on. 


MEHER  AND   MUSHTERI,   CONTINUED.  369 

The  next  morning  he  received  another  invitation 
to  visit  the  palace,  and  on  this  occasion  he  presented 
a  poem  which  he  had  written  in  honor  of  the  king, 
when  the  eloquence  of  his  diction,  the  music  of  his 
rhythm,  and  the  historical  knowledge  betrayed  by  his 
allusions  to  the  past,  made  his  production  an  object  of 
admiration  to  the  literati  of  the  court.  It  was  cus- 
tomary for  those  who  were  presented  to  make  an  offer- 
ing to  royalty,  and  after  apologizing  for  the  humble 
character  of  his  gift,  Meher  ordered  one  of  his  attend- 
ants to  present  to  his  majesty  a  little  casket  which  he 
carried  in  his  hand.  With  a  feeling  of  curiosity, 
mingled  with  a  desire  to  extend  an  especial  favor,  Kei- 
wan  received  the  gift  in  his  own  hands,  and  upon  open- 
ing the  casket  he  was  astonished  to  find  richer  jewels 
than  any  that  gleamed  in  his  own  treasury.  There  was 
one  ruby  in  that  little  collection,  which,  on  being  placed 
in  water,  radiated  a  light  which  colored  the  water  like 
the  blood  of  the  grape,  and  the  diamonds  flashed  back 
the  green  and  purple  fire  of  the  emerald  and  amethyst 
beside  them. 

Here  was  another  factor  in  the  problem  which  was 
agitating  the  mind  of  Keiwan,  for  unless  this  youth 
was  of  royal  birth  he  must  surely  belong  to  some  band 
of  robbers  who  had  successfully  raided  a  king's  treas- 
ury. But  with  true  Oriental  reticence  he  forbore  to 
express  his  surprise,  determined  to  wait  until  he  could 
solve  the  mystery  without  questions. 

Again  Meher  was  summoned  to  the  court  and  chal- 
lenged to  a  game  of  drafts  with  a  skillful  opponent ; 
being  successful  in  this,  he  was  invited  to  a  contest  in 
chess  with  the  best  player  of  the  kingdom.  The  king 


370  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

looked  on  and  saw  his  young  friend  checkmate  the 
veteran  with  six  moves.  Afterward  the  monarch  sent 
him  a  letter  requiring  an  immediate  reply  at  a  time 
when  his  secretary  was  known  to  be  absent.  The  mes- 
senger waited  a  few  minutes,  and  then  carried  to  his 
royal  master  a  letter  which  was  a  model  in  its  literary 
style  as  well  as  in  its  mechanical  execution.  Every 
triumph  of  this  kind  raised  the  Persian  youth  more 
highly  in  the  estimation  of  the  king,  but  he  was  not 
yet  satisfied,  and  after  a  time  he  was  invited  to  a  trial 
of  strength  and  agility ;  the  contest  took  place  in  front 
of  the  palace,  while  the  queen  and  the  princess  Nahid 
looked  upon  the  combatants  from  behind  a  screen. 
Meher  rode  into  the  arena  upon  his  white  Arabian 
steed,  and  never  royal  rider  mounted  a  more  magnifi- 
cent animal,  or  rode  with  more  grace  and  ease ;  as  the 
horse  circled  proudly  around  the  arena,  his  young 
master  shot  his  arrows  through  the  distant  target  until 
the  quiver  by  his  side  was  empty,  then  he  threw  the 
javelin,  and  in  a  later  contest  with  spears,  he  carried 
off  the  prize. 

Safely  hidden  behind  her  costly  screen,  the  beauti- 
ful princess  watched  the  contest,  and  the  victor  won 
not  only  the  plaudits  of  the  multitude,  but  also  the 
heart  of  Nahid ;  the  prince  rode  quietly  away,  but  the 
princess  went  to  her  rooms,  with  her  cheeks  flushed 
and  her  heart  beating  with  terror.  Already  offers  had 
been  received  from  foreign  courts  for  her  hand,  and 
her  father  had  hesitated  only  to  find  a  more  powerful 
ally.  Full  well  she  knew  that,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  East,  she  was  liable  to  be  bargained  away 
at  any  time,  without  even  a  question  in  relation  to 


MEHEB   AND   MffSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  371 

her  own  preference,  for  the  Eastern  woman  is  sup- 
posed to  give  her  affection  wherever  policy  decides  that 
her  hand  shall  go.  At  last  she  went  to  her  faithful 
nurse,  and  told  the  story  of  her  love  for  the  stranger, 
told  her  how  impossible  it  would  be  for  her  to  love 
any  other  than  the  gallant  youth  who  now  held  her 
heart  in  his  hands,  and  declared  that  she  would  take 
her  own  life  if  she  were  compelled  to  marry  another. 

The  nurse  was  frightened  by  her  strong  emotion, 
and  hastened  to  the  queen  with  the  information  ;  the 
mother  received  the  message  with  great  agitation,  and 
soon  afterward  she  sought  the  presence  of  the  king. 
Long  and  carefully  the  subject  was  considered,  for 
they  were  both  favorably  impressed  with  the  stranger, 
but  an  alliance  of  the  royal  house  could  not  be  light- 
ly made,  and  whatever  might  be  the  accomplishments 
of  Meher  they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  his  own  representations,  for  surely  there  could  be 
no  good  reason  why  a  man  of  royal  birth  should  deny 
his  parentage. 

No  decision  was  made,  but  it  must  be  confessed 
that  Meher  stood  still  nearer  to  their  hearts  on  ac- 
count of  the  love  which  their  only  daughter  bore  him. 
Although  a  confessed  favorite  at  court,  and  living  in 
the  enjoyment  of  luxury,  the  heart  of  the  prince  was 
oppressed  with  grief  and  loneliness,  for  he  constantly 
mourned  the  absence  of  his  friend,  and  the  fearful 
uncertainty  which  hung  over  his  fate. 

THE   CONFLICT. 

A  messenger  from  the  king  of  Samarcand  bore  to 
the  court  of  Keiwan  an  offer  for  the  hand  of  the 


372  PERSIAN   LITEKATURE. 

princess,  for  the  fame  of  her  wondrous  loveliness  had 
spread  through  all  the  neighboring  kingdoms.  The 
ambassador  came  laden  with  the  costliest  jewels  and 
the  richest  brocades  of  the  East  as  presents  for  the 
bride,  for  there  was  no  thought  in  the  heart  of  King 
Kara  Khan  that  his  offer  might  be  refused. 

Keiwan  had  long  considered  the  fading  rose  on  the 
cheek  of  his  beloved  daughter,  and  more  than  once  he 
had  asked  himself  if  her  happiness  was  not  worth  as 
much  as  an  alliance  with  some  neighboring  monarch, 
who  was  liable  to  betray  his  trust  whenever  it  might 
be  considered  profitable  to  do  so. 

There  was  a  shade  of  superiority,  too,  in  the  manner 
of  the  ambassador — an  evident  feeling  that  his  master 
was  bestowing  a  high  honor  that  stung  the  proud 
spirit  of  King  Keiwan,  and  he  returned  an  unqualified 
refusal  to  the  proposition. 

This  decision  was  made  in  opposition  to  the  advice 
of  the  Grand  Vizir,  who  dreaded  to  insult  so  powerful 
a  prince,  but  the  king  refused  to  reconsider  his  action, 
and  the  ambassador  went  away  in  anger. 

King  Kara  Khan  received  the  message  of  refusal, 
first  with  incredulity,  and  afterwards  with  rage  ;  hav- 
ing never  seen  the  girl,  he  cared  nothing  for  her 
personally,  but  his  indignation  knew  no  bounds  when 
he  learned  that  his  expressed  wish  had  been  disre- 
garded. 

As  the  Vizir  had  feared,  the  return  of  the  disap- 
pointed ambassador  was  promptly  followed  by  a  dec- 
laration of  war,  and  soon  the  Tartar  horde  was  march- 
ing directly  upon  Kharizm. 

King    Keiwan    was    almost    overcome    with    dismay 


MEHER  AND   MCSHTERI,   CONTINUED.  373 

when  the  news  of  the  invasion  was  brought  to  him, 
for  the  Tartar  chief  was  not  a  foe  to  be  despised ; 
the  court  was  in  more  or  less  confusion  on  account  of 
the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
general  terror,  the  nurse  of  Nahld  went  to  Meher  and 
told  him  the  story  of  the  great  love  that  the  princess 
bore  for  him,  and  informed  him  that  it  was  in  defer- 
ence to  this  feeling  that  the  king  had  refused  to  give 
his  daughter  to  the  king  of  Samarcand. 

Feeling  that  he  was  the  unfortunate  cause  of  the 
attack  upon  his  royal  friend,  the  prince  went  to  the 
king  and  offered  to  withstand  the  foe  with  five  hun- 
dred chosen  men.  Although  the  offer  was  refused, 
being  looked  upon  as  a  useless  sacrifice,  Meher  and  his 
friends  insisted  that  they  should  be  allowed  the  privi- 
lege of  joining  the  army  which  marched  out  to 
repulse  the  attack  of  the  Tartars. 

Soon  the  wild  horde  of  mountaineers  bore  down 
upon  the  Khiirizmians,  and  it  could  be  seen  that  the 
attacking  force  greatly  outnumbered  them,  but  the 
troops  of  Keiwan  stood  bravely  at  their  post  and  sent 
their  death-dealing  arrows  into  the  ranks  of  the  foe. 

The  Tartar  chief  clad  in  black  armor  was  leading 
his  troops  in  person,  and  he  looked  a  very  fiend  as  his 
bloody  falchion  made  great  vistas  in  the  ranks  that 
opposed  his  progress.  The  heads  of  horsemen  rolled 
beneath  his  splendid  charger,  and  it  seemed  that  only 
another  Rustem  could  withstand  the  fury  of  his 
attack.  The  black  banners  were  spread  upon  the  air, 
and  the  wild  music  of  gong  and  tymbalons  cheered 
his  reckless  hordes  in  their  fatal  work. 

There    was    the    clash    of    spears,     the    ringing    of 


374  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

armor,  and  the  shouts  of  the  chieftains,  mingled  with 
the  trampling  of  horses  and  the  cries  of  dying  men ; 
still  onward  came  the  Tartar  chief,  cleaving  his  path 
through  the  opposing  forces,  even  while  blade  for 
blade  sprang  up  to  meet  him.  The  Kharizmians  were 
falling  back  before  the  irresistible  fury  of  the  onset, 
and  victory  was  surely  perching  upon  the  black 
banner  above  the  fatal  field.  Confusion  already  reigned 
amidst  the  flying  troops,  when  a  warrior  youth  with  a 
broidered  vestment  rode  out  of  the  retreating  ranks 
and  called  upon  the  men  to  follow  him. 

It  was  a  voice  of  imperial  command,  the  order  of  a 
man  who  rode  fearlessly  into  the  ranks  of  the  foe,  and 
the  troops  of  Keiwan  quickly  rallied,  the  officers 
reformed  their  lines,  and  followed  the  new  leader  into 
the  very  jaws  of  death. 

Kara  Khan  laughed  mockingly  as  he  saw  the 
stripling,  who  had  turned  the  retreating  lines,  riding 
towards  him,  but  in  another  moment  the  boy  was  by 
his  side,  and  before  he  could  draw  his  sword  a  quick 
motion  had  thrown  him  from  his  horse;  the  cry  went 
through  the  Tartar  ranks  that  the  king  was  slain, 
and,  in  the  momentary  panic  caused  by  the  false 
alarm,  he  was  captured  by  the  dauntless  youth,  who 
hurried  him  back  within  the  Kharizmian  lines. 

Leaving  his  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  his  own 
attendants  the  prince  again  turned  his  horse  to 
the  front,  and  again  he  led  the  troops  of  Keiwan,  this 
time  to  an  easy  victory ;  the  fate  of  the  day  being 
turned  by  the  capture  of  the  Tartar  king,  the  hordes 
of  the  invader  either  fled  from  the  field  or  surren- 
dered to  the  new  leader. 


MERER  AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  375 

When  the  royal  prisoner  was  brought  before  the 
victorious  king,  the  order  was  issued  according  -to  the 
barbaric  custom,  that  he  should  be  beheaded ;  but 
Meher  interfered,  with  the  plea  that  it  were  far  better 
to  send  him  back  to  his  own  dominions  pledged  to 
make  an  annual  tribute  to  Keiwan.  This  would  not 
only  increase  the  royal  revenue,  but  it  would  hold  the 
Tartar  host  in  subjection,  and  also  preserve  the  peace; 
whereas,  upon  the  execution  of  their  king  his  succes- 
sor would  declare  perpetual  war  against  the  Khar- 
izmians. 

After  a  time  Meher  succeeded  in  convincing  the 
king  of  the  wisdom  of  a  humane  policy,  and  the  cap- 
tive was  allowed  to  depart  in  peace,  having  taken  a 
solemn  pledge  to  send  a  rich  tribute  to  the  conqueror 
every  year  on  the  anniversary  of  his  attack. 

Keiwan  acknowledged  that  the  victory  had  been  se- 
cured by  Meher,  and  he  was  escorted  back  to  the 
palace  by  a  portion  of  the  royal  guard,  while  the 
honors  bestowed  upon  the  prince  were  second  only  to 
those  received  by  the  king  himself. 

A   GARDEN  SCENE. 

The  enameled  cupola  of  the  palace,  rich  with  its 
arabesques  of  gold,  was  partially  hidden  by  the  boughs 
of  the  tall  trees  that  stood  like  sentries  around  it;  at 
their  feet  were  fountains  that  poured  their  silvery 
streams  into  marble  tanks,  where  the  gold-fish  glided 
through  the  waves,  and  white  lotus  blossoms  rose 
above  them,  filling  all  the  air  with  their  fragrant 
breath.  There  were  aloes  with  their  spikes  of  silvery 
blossoms,  and  pink  oleander  sprays  were  reflected  back 


376  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

in  the  water  of  the  lilied  tanks.  The  bulbul  sang  in 
the  thickets  of  roses,  and  the  sunbirds  fluttered 
through  the  taller  trees,  where  their  eggs  of  mottled 
gray  were  safely  hidden. 

As  the  triumphant  warriors  returned  to  the  palace 
the  low  sun  dappled  the  green  with  creeping  shadows, 
and  rays  of  golden  light  tinted  the  trees  with 
splendor.  The  prince  was  exhausted  with  the  strong 
excitement  of  the  last  few  days,  and  especially  wearied 
by  the  bitter  conflict  which  he  had  just  passed 
through  :  the  voices  even  of  victory  seemed  to  jar 
upon  his  ears  and  he  sought  in  the  cool  shades  of  the 
garden  the  rest  which  he  could  not  hope  to  find 
within  the  palace  walls.  Here,  upon  a  bank  of  ver- 
dure, he  laid  his  weary  form,  and  soon  fell  asleep 
amidst  the  flowers. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  tall  trees,  the  princess 
Nahid  was  walking  with  her  nurse,  and  they  were 
talking  in  low  tones  of  the  great  victory,  the  news  of 
which  had  reached  even  the  apartments  of  the 
women.  The  princess  stood  beneath  an  orange  tree, 
and  the  tints  of  rose  were  blushing  through  the  soft 
olive  shades  of  her  face,  while  the  dark  eyes  were 
beaming  with  a  wondrous  light,  for  she  had  heard  the 
name  of  her  beloved  in  connection  with  the  deeds  of 
valor  upon  that  well  fought  field.  Her  love-lighted 
eyes  were  curtained  with  long  sweeping  lashes,  and 
the  mouth  of  rose  and  pearl  was  curved  with  a  smile 
divine,  as  they  walked  through  the  green  aisles  and 
spoke  in  joyous  whispers  of  this  new  triumph,  which 
could  not  fail  to  bring  Meher  nearer  to  the  heart  of 
the  king.  Nahid  was  walking  slowly  in  advance  of 


MEHER   AND   MUSHTEBI,    CONTINUED.  377 

her  attendant  when  she  came  to  a  little  opening  in 
the  trees,  and  there  upon  the  bank  lay  the  man  she 
loved,  still  held  in  the  restful  arms  of  sleep.  She 
checked  the  exclamation  of  surprise  that  sprang  to  her 
lips,  and,  cautiously  advancing,  she  bent  above  the 
silent  figure  and  looked  long  and  lovingly  upon  the 
face  she  knew  so  well 

The  sleeping  prince  felt  her  presence,  and  through 
his  mind  there  passed  a  vision  of  loveliness;  he 
dreamed  that  a  beautiful  woman  bent  above  his  couch 
holding  a  pomegranate  blossom — the  flower  of  faith. 
Upon  her  dark  hair  there  rested  a  little  cap  sewn 
thick  with  beaded  pearls,  and  something  whispered  in 
his  dream  that  this  was  the  princess  who  had  scorned 
a  Tartar  king  for  his  sake. 

And  still  the  prince  dreamed  on,  and  still  the 
bright  face  bent  above  him,  all  unheeding  the  frantic 
gestures  of  the  attendant  who  would  call  the  impru- 
dent Nahid  away.  But  the  bulbul  in  the  rose-tree 
had  bolder  grown,  and  his  voice  rose  higher  in  a  joy- 
ous song, — the  sleeping  prince  awoke,  and  lo !  the 
vision  of  his  dream  was  bending  o'er  him ;  with  one 
quick  movement,  all  unheeding  Eastern  law,  he  caught 
her  in  his  arms,  and,  as  she  lay  blushing  and  trembling 
there,  he  told  her  the  sweet  old  story,  which  is  ever 
new  to  the  listening  heart. 

In  vain  the  attendant  pleaded  that  he  had  no  right 
to  even  look  upon  her  unveiled  face — in  vain  she 
warned  them  that  if  this  meeting  came  to  the  ears  of 
the  king,  the  life  of  Meher  must  pay  the  penalty  of 
the  forbidden  kiss;  long  he  held  her  there  in  his 
warm  embrace,  and  then  a  Huma  bird  floated  slowly 


378  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

above  them  and  the  attendant  thought  that  a  future 
king  and  his  queen  were  before  her  ;  for  never  doth 
this  bird  of  happy  omen  fly  around  a  human  head 
but  it  will  sometime  wear  a  crown.  The  sun  had 
rolled  away  behind  the  crimson  curtains  of  the  west 
before  the  princess  stole  to  her  room,  but  not  to 
sleep,  for  if  a  treacherous  eye  had  seen  her  with 
Meher,  she  might  be  called  with  the  dawn  to  witness 
his  execution. 

AFTERWARDS. 

The  prince  went  to  his  chambers  with  his  heart 
filled  with  conflicting  emotions  ;  on  the  one  hand  was 
the  beautiful  princess,  who  had  confided  her  love  to 
him,  and  on  the  other  was  the  humiliating  knowledge 
that  he  had  betrayed  the  trust  of  his  royal  friend, 
the  king,  who  had  taken  an  unknown  youth  into  his 
heart  and  home.  Full  well  he  knew  that  he  had  no 
right  to  even  look  into  the  unveiled  face  of  the 
princess,  no  right  to  touch  the  soft  hands  which  were 
henna  stained  upon  the  palms,  and  yet  he  had  vio- 
lated the  most  sacred  law  of  hospitality  by  holding 
her  in  his  arms — nay,  he  had  even  pressed  her  crimson 
lips  with  his  own  ;  in  that  hour  of  strong  self-con- 
demnation he  did  not  dread  the  righteous  anger  of 
the  king,  he  felt  rather,  that  it  devolved  upon  him 
to  go  into  the  court,  and  make  a  full  confession  of 
his  base  act  and  bravely  receive  the  deserved  punish- 
ment. 

Another  bitter  thought  added  not  a  little  to  his 
self-reproach,  for  was  he  not  also  a  traitor  to  the 
sacred  trust  of  friendship?  His  chosen  friend  was  in 


MEHER  AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  379 

constant  peril,  he  knew  not  where,  and  he  was  living 
in  ease  and  luxury  without  trying  to  find  him ;  he 
thought  he  could  go  to  the  king,  and,  by  proving  his 
royal  birth  and  his  claim  to  the  Persian  throne,  he 
could  hopefully  ask  for  the  hand  of  the  princess,  but 
this  would  be  a  virtual  desertion  of  the  cause  of  his 
friend,  and  he  could  not  consent  to  thus  sacrifice  the 
sacred  claims  of  fraternal  love  for  his  own  pleasure 
and  happiness.  Long  he  tossed  upon  his  sleepless 
couch  and  still  the  matter  was  far  from  settled ;  at 
last  he  fell  into  a  feverish  slumber  which  was  haunted 
by  a  fair  face,  with  dark,  loving  eyes,  but  there  were 
also  visions  of  a  loyal  friend  who  was  suffering  on  ac- 
count of  his  unyielding  devotion  to  the  prince — 
even  the  vindictive  face  of  Behram  passed  before  his 
mind,  and  the  morning  found  him  still  weary  and 
disturbed.  He  decided,  however,  to  pursue  his  search 
for  Mushteri,  even  at  the  risk  of  losing  Nahid,  for 
was  not  this  his  first  and  most  sacred  obligation  ? 

Having  resolved  to  follow  what  seemed  the  path 
of  duty,  at  whatever  cost,  his  tempest-torn  heart  was 
at  rest.  Surely  the  sacrifice  and  renunciation  were 
better  than  the  gratification  of  self-love,  and  when 
he  had  found  his  friend  he  would  present  to  the 
king  a  formal  request  for  the  hand  of  Nahld.  While 
yet  he  pondered,  a  messenger  was  announced  from 
the  king  with  an  order  for  his  immediate  presence  in 
the  council  chamber  of  the  palace. 

THE   DECISION. 

The  imperative  nature  of  the  summons  bore  with 
it  an  air  of  danger;  it  was  not  the  kindly  invitation 


380  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

which  he  had  been  wont  to  receive,  or  at  least  the 
messenger  did  not  deliver  it  as  such,  and  the  scene 
in  the  garden  with  all  its  possible  consequences, 
flashed  before  the  mind  of  the  prince.  He  dismissed 
the  chamberlain  with  the  reply  that  the  call  would  be 
promptly  obeyed,  and  then  sat  down  to  collect  his 
thoughts  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  whatever  ordeal 
might  await  him. 

He  could  not  avoid  the  conviction  that  he  must 
now  pay  the  penalty  for  his  betrayal  of  the  king's 
trust,  and  he  thought  of  the  broken-hearted  mother 
who  was  grieving  her  life  away  over  the  uncertain 
fate  of  her  child ;  he  had  no  hope  that  he  could  even 
send  her  a  message,  for  Oriental  monarchs  were  not 
in  the  habit  of  granting  such  privileges  to  men  who 
were  condemned  to  execution. 

But  he  had  little  time  for  sad  reflections,  and  soon 
he  was  on  his  way  to  obey  the  imperial  summons. 
He  was  ushered  into  the  royal  presence  and  was 
received  with  the  usual  courtesies,  but  the  king 
ordered  the  Vizir  to  leave  the  room,  and  then  Meher 
knew  that  he  should  soon  learn  his  fate. 

The  monarch  slowly  recounted  the  principal  inci- 
dents of  their  acquaintance,  and  after  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  battle  and  the  victory  which  Meher  had 
snatched  from  the  very  hands  of  defeat,  he  said:  "I 
have  consulted  with  my  principal  counselors,  and  we 
have  decided  that  the  only  suitable  reward  which  we 
can  confer  upon  the  unknown  Persian  youth  is  to  give 
him  the  Princess  K"ahid  in  marriage." 

Meher  fell  upon  his  knees  in  an  ecstacy  of  grati- 
tude, and  it  was  some  time  before  he  could  even 


MEHER   AND   MU8HTEEI,    CONTINUED.  381 

thank  the  king  for  his  great  kindness;  but  he  could 
not  prove  himself  further  unworthy  of  this  great  trust, 
and  after  expressing,  as  best  he  could,  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  priceless  gift,  he  proceeded  with  true  man- 
liness, to  tell  his  whole  story  to  King  Keiwan.  He 
told  of  his  parentage,  his  claims  to  the  crown  of  Per- 
sia, his  unchanging  friendship  with  Mushteri,  who 
was  exiled  for  his  sake,  of  his  determination  to  find 
his  friend,  and  his  great  appreciation  of  the  kindness 
of  his  royal  host. 

Nothing  was  hidden  in  this  manly  confession  ;  the 
scene  in  the  garden  was  given  with  unfaltering  truth- 
fulness, even  while  the  narrator  watched  the  dark 
frown  that  was  gathering  upon  the  brow  of  Keiwan. 
The  angry  king  listened  in  dismay,  though  he  could 
but  admire  the  moral  courage  of  the  prince,  who, 
when  he  had  finished,  threw  himself  upon  the  clem- 
ency of  Keiwan. 

There  was  a  silence  that  seemed  to  bode  little 
good  to  Meher,  and  then  the  king  said:  "I  have 
seen  how  thou  could'st  forgive,  even  a  foe  ;  I  have 
seen  thee  plead  for  Kara  Khan,  who  would  gladly 
have  taken  thy  life,  if  it  were  in  his  power;  a  king 
cannot  afford  to  be  less  magnanimous  than  thyself — 
arise  and  receive  rny  forgiveness."  But  the  grateful 
prince  remained  at  his  feet  and  there  expressed  his 
devout  thankfulness. 

In  this  long  and  candid  interview  he  also  told 
Keiwan  that  while  he  held  in  his  heart  a  great  love 
for  the  beautiful  princess,  and  nothing  in  life  could 
give  him  greater  joy  than  to  call  her  his  own,  still  he 
dared  not  give  up,  even  for  her  sake,  his  search  for 


382  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

the  friend  of  his  childhood,  who  might  even  now  be 
in  jeopardy  on  account  of  his  loyalty.  Again  he  braved 
the  royal  displeasure,  by  seeming  to  undervalue  the 
priceless  gift,  even  while  his  own  heart  cried  out  for 
his  love.  Again  that  ominous  frown  passed  over  the 
brow  of  the  king,  and  his  words  were  followed  by  a 
silence  so  profound  that  he  could  hear  his  own  heart- 
beats. After  a  time  the  king  spoke,  but  only  to  chide 
him  for  his  ill-chosen  friendship,  only  to  tell  him  that 
his  hope  was  useless,  and  to  urge  him  to  give  up  the 
fruitless  search. 

Meher  replied  that  it  was  impossible — that  he  could 
not  be  happy  in  heaven  itself,  if  he  had  betrayed  the 
trust  of  his  friend,  and  whatever  might  be  the  cost, 
he  must  either  find  him  or  give  his  life  to  the  unavail- 
ing search ;  he  was  then  dismissed  from  the  king's 
presence,  and  went  away  feeling  that  although  he  was 
under  the  royal  displeasure,  he  must  still  be  true  to 
himself. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
MEHER  AND  MUSHTERI— CONTINUED. 

THE     CAPTIVES — ARREST    AND    TRIAL — ROYAL     FAVOR— 
THE    SENTENCE. 

A  CARAVAN  which  was  approaching  Khiirizm 
•^A.  was  observed  to  have  in  custody  two  prisoners, 
who  had  evidently  been  cruelly  beaten.  The  report 
was  carried  to  the  city,  and  the  king's  officers  were  sent 
out  to  investigate  the  circumstances.  They  questioned 
the  owner  of  the  caravan  in  relation  to  the  matter,  and 
he  informed  them  that  these  men  were  his  slaves,  who 
had  escaped  from  his  service  and  carried  off  with  them 
large  quantities  of  stolen  goods ;  he  had  pursued  them 
many  days  and  at  great  expense,  had  finally  captured 
them,  but  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  only  a  small 
portion  of  his  merchandise,  the  rest  having  been  sold 
and  the  proceeds  expended  in  riotous  living. 

The  man  was  evidently  a  Persian,  and  the  captives 
seemed  to  be  Persian  also,  therefore  the  story  seemed 
probable,  and  the  officers  returned  to  the  king  with 
the  statement  that  the  matter  had  been  fully  investi- 
gated, and  that  the  master  of  the  caravan  had  evi- 
dently good  reasons  for  whatever  severity  might  have 
been  used,  and  thus  the  matter  was  allowed  to  rest, 
while  the  strangers  encamped  in  security  just  outside 
the  city  limits.  A  close  guard  was  kept  over  the 


384  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

prisoners,  and  they  were  constantly  told  that  if  they 
varied  from  this  story,  in  case  they  were  questioned, 
that  their  lives  should  pay  the  forfeit  of  their  impru- 
dence. In  view  of  the  dreadful  beating  they  had 
already  received,  they  had  good  reason  to  believe  that 
they  would  not  only  be  murdered,  but  that,  too,  in  the 
most  barbarous  manner,  in  case  of  exposure ;  Mush- 
teri  decided  to  tell  the  truth  if  he  were  questioned, 
whatever  the  result  might  be,  but  there  was  little 
prospect  that  such  an  opportunity  might  present  itself, 
for  they  were  not  only  closely  guarded,  but  the  indo- 
lent officers  of  the  crown  were  glad  to  have  the  mat- 
ter so  easily  disposed  of. 

After  a  few  days  of  rest,  therefore,  in  the  suburbs, 
Behram  gave  the  order  to  proceed,  and  the  men  under 
his  command  slowly  packed  the  camp  utensils,  and  the 
caravan  made  its  way  into  the  city,  where  some  of  the 
merchant's  goods  were  offered  for  sale.  The  rich  Per- 
sian stuffs  brought  high  prices,  and  the  burdens  of  the 
pack  animals  were  not  only  lightened  but  the  master 
was  rapidly  changing  his  wealth  into  a  more  portable 
form.  One  of  the  attendants  of  Meher  was  attracted 
by  the  sale,  for  with  his  longing  for  home  was  mingled 
a  desire  to  obtain  some  of  the  goods  which  had  a  fa- 
miliar look  in  their  fabric.  He  was  merely  looking  on, 
however,  at  a  short  distance,  for  the  crowd  around  the 
caravan  was  not  easy  to  penetrate,  and  he  wondered  in 
an  indolent  way  what  portion  of  Persia  he  new  com- 
ers were  from,  when  he  was  startled  by  the  sound  of  a 
familiar  voice ;  the  indifference  in  his  manner  quickly 
vanished,  and  he  listened  eagerly  until  he  heard  it 
again,  for  he  could  not  at  first  recall  the  tone  that 


MEHER   AND    MCSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  385 

seemed  so  straugely  familiar.  He  pressed  anxiously 
nearer,  and  at  last  caught  sight  of  the  face  of  Behram, 
who  was  so  deeply  engaged  in  the  sale  of  his  goods 
that  he  did  not  notice  an  eager  look  upon  the  face  of 
one  of  the  bystanders,  and  the  man  hurried  away  to 
carry  the  news  to  Meher.  Feeling  that  he  had  possibly 
found  a  clue  to  the  whereabouts  of  his  friend,  the 
prince  applied  for  an  interview  with  the  king;  but 
his  cordial  relations  with  royalty  had  been  greatly  in- 
terrupted by  what  the  monarch  chose  to  consider  his 
indifference  to  the  princess,  and  he  refused  to  see  him, 
sending  out  a  message  to  the  effect  that  he  was  too 
busy  to  be  interrupted. 

The  prince  sent  his  friend  back  to  watch,  unob- 
served, the  movements  of  the  caravan,  and  also  to  see 
if  possibly  he  might  not  have  been  mistaken  in  the 
identity  of  Behram.  This  was  all  he  could  do  at 
present,  and  he  realized  that  even  if  it  should  prove 
to  be  his  old  attendant  his  discovery  might  not  lead 
to  any  information  concerning  Mushteri.  The  man 
returned,  however,  to  Meher  with  the  information 
that  it  was  surely  Behram,  and  he  carried  two  cap- 
tives, but  they  were  so  closely  guarded  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  see  who  they  were.  In  an  agony  of  sus- 
pense the  prince  again  applied  for  an  audience  with 
the  king,  but  only  to  meet  with  a  second  refusal.  In 
the  morning  he  learned  that,  having  sold  all  the  goods 
which  he  wished  at  present  to  dispose  of,  Behram  was 
preparing  to  leave  the  city. 

ARREST   AND   TRIAL. 

Meher  would  have  been  willing  to  follow  and  attack 
him  with  the  aid  only  of  his  own  attendants,  but  he 


386  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

knew  that  in  case  of  an  attack  Behram's  first  act  would 
be  to  slay  his  captives,  whoever  they  might  be  ;  he  there- 
fore wrote  a  most  piteous  appeal  to  the  king,  saying 
that  he  knew  the  owner  of  the  caravan  to  be  a  man 
of  basest  purpose,  and  beseeching  that  he  might  at 
least  be  arrested  and  more  thoroughly  examined. 

Keiwan  tit  last  consented  to  this  plan,  but  the  cara- 
van was  already  two  days'  journey  from  the  city.  The 
king's  officers  overtook  them,  and  brought  them  back 
to  appear  before  the  tribunal  in  the  council  hall.  Me- 
her  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  audience  with  the 
king,  who  treated  him  with  great  formality.  He  con- 
sented, however,  that  the  prince  should  be  present  at 
the  forthcoming  examination  of  the  prisoners,  and  he 
chose  to  do  so  without  being  himself  observed. 

Behram  and  his  slaves  were  brought  into  the  hall 
and  the  prisoners  were  also  compelled  to  appear,  all 
the  excuses  of  Behram  having  been  unavailing  with 
the  officers,  who  had  strict  orders  from  Keiwan.  Me- 
her  looked  closely  and  anxiously  at  them  from  behind 
his  screen,  but  they  had  been  so  completely  changed 
by  the  barbarous  treatment  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected  that  he  could  not  recognize  them.  Feeling 
grievously  disappointed,  he  lost  to  a  great  extent  his 
interest  in  the  trial,  for  he  cared  little  to  have  Beh- 
ram punished  merely  as  a  matter  of  revenge. 

The  owner  of  the  caravan  was  first  plied  with  ques- 
tions, and  he  told  with  great  freedom  the  story  which 
he  had  first  given  to  the  king's  officers.  He  declared 
that  both  of  his  prisoners  were  his  former  slaves,  and 
one  of  them  being  his  treasurer  had  been  intrusted 
with  large  sums  of  money  ;  he  had  betrayed  his  trust, 


MEIIER   AND   MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  387 

however,  and  with  his  companion  had  stolen  a  vast 
amount  of  money  and  jewels,  taking  them  to  a  for- 
eign land.  The  owner  had  pursued  them  at  great 
expense  of  both  time  and  money,  and  now  having  se- 
cured them  he  was  taking  them  back  to  deliver  them 
up  to  the  proper  officers.  He  then  called  his  slaves  to 
swear  to  the  truth  of  his  story,  which  they  promptly 
did. 

As  the  story  proceeded,  Meher  was  stirred  with  in- 
dignation, and  with  great  difficulty  succeeded  in  keep- 
ing his  place  behind  the  screen.  He  contented  him- 
self, however,  with  writing  out  questions  to  be  asked 
the  prisoner,  and  sending  them  by  his  attendant  to  the 
proper  officer. 

In  this  way  he  soon  had  the  traitor  involved  in  a 
mass  of  hopeless  contradictions  and  lost  in  wonder  at 
the  ingenuity  of  a  stranger  who  seemed  to  understand 
his  entire  history. 

At  last  one  of  the  captives  was  brought  forward  to 
testify  in  his  own  behalf,  and  Mushteri  took  the  stand. 
His  head  had  been  shaved  and  his  face  painted;  his 
clothing  was  in  fragments,  and  he  was  so  weakened  by 
the  brutalities  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  that  he 
could  hardly  stand.  His  own  mother  would  not  have 
recognized  him  when  he  was  led  forward,  but  when 
the  first  question  was  put  to  him  and  he  began  to  re- 
ply, the  tones  of  his  voice  carried  his  identity  to 
Meher,  and,  unable  to  conceal  his  emotions,  the  prince 
came  quickly  forward  and  caught  him  in  his  arms. 
The  captive  gave  one  glad  cry  of  recognition,  and  then 
fainted  at  the  feet  of  his  friend.  Keiwan  was  melted 
to  tears  by  this  scene  of  fraternal  devotion,  and, 


388  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

quickly  giving  an  order  to  have  Behram  placed  in 
irons,  he  called  for  restoratives  to  be  applied  to  the 
victim  of  his  cruelty.  The  face  of  Mushteri  was 
bathed  in  rose  water,  and  when  he  revived  he  was 
driven  with  Bader  to  the  apartments  of  the  prince. 

Their  wounds  were  carefully  dressed,  and  the  most 
delicate  food  placed  before  them  ;  wardrobes  were  pro- 
vided, and  every  luxury  that  art  could  devise  or  money- 
could  purchase,  was  placed  at  their  disposal. 

Long  hours  were  spent  in  recounting  to  each  other 
the  history  of  the  past,  before  Meher  could  consent  to 
leave  his  friend,  even  to  visit  the  palace. 

ROYAL    FAVOR. 

When  Meher  again  applied  for  an  interview  with 
the  king,  his  request  was  not  refused,  for  Keiwan  could 
but  honor  the  loyalty  of  a  man  who  had  so  persist- 
ently followed  his  friend,  and  at  last  rescued  him  from 
the  hands  of  a  man  who  would  soon  have  murdered 
him  in  the  most  barbarous  manner  but  for  the  timely 
intercession  of  the  prince. 

After  enjoying  the  cordial  reception  which  the  king 
vouchsafed  to  him,  Meher  said:  "I  have  a  right  to 
speak  to  thee  now,  for  no  other  duty  intervenes.  I 
come  before  thee  as  the  heir  of  the  Persian  throne, 
and  come  to  ask  the  hand  of  the  beautiful  princess  in 
marriage.  Having  discharged  the  most  sacred  duties  of 
friendship,  I  ask  thee  to  give  me  also  the  blessings  of 
love." 

The  king  replied  that  the  man  who  could  be  so 
loyal  in  his  friendship  could  not  be  unworthy  the 
hand  of  even  the  princess  Nahld,  and  their  betrothal 
was  formally  sealed. 


MEHER   AND  MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  389 

A  message  was  sent  to  the  apartments  of  Nahid  to 
inform  the  happy  princess  of  her  betrothal  to  the  man 
she  loved,  and  thus  it  happened  that  in  an  Eastern 
court  a  woman's  heart  was  given  with  her  hand.  She 
was  not  allowed  to  see  her  lover,  even  the  stolen  in- 
terview in  the  garden  being  looked  upon  as  criminal ; 
but  she  told  the  story  to  the  bulbul  in  the  rose-tree, 
and  the  bulbul  sang  a  sweet  new  tune  as  he  looked  down 
into  the  sheltered  nest  where  three  blue  eggs  were 
waiting  the  touch  of  life. 

The  princess  told  her  story  to  the  lotus  blossoms, 
and  they  breathed  a  sweeter  fragrance  ;  she  told  the 
pomegranate  tree  that  had  witnessed  their  first  be- 
trothal, and  the  rich  flowers  grew  more  vivid  and 
seemed  to  tremble  with  a  new  happiness  ;  the  sunbirds 
flew  more  joyously  through  the  branches  of  the  trees, 
and  even  the  skies  were  of  rose  and  pearl. 

THE    SENTENCE. 

There  came  a  day  when  Behriim  was  brought  forth 
from  his  dark  cell  to  receive  his  sentence,  and  there 
beside  the  throne  stood  Meher  and  Mushteri,  while 
Bader  was  only  a  little  way  in  the  background. 

The  face  of  the  culprit  was  dark  with  shame  and 
the  poison  of  defeated  malice,  as  he  stood  in  the  pres- 
ence of  those  whose  lives  he  had  so  nearly  wrecked. 
There  was  a  cloud  even  upon  the  face  of  the  prince, 
for  he  remembered  the  suffering  which  this  man  had 
brought  upon  the  friend  of  his  boyhood,  and,  more 
than  all,  upon  his  gentle  mother  in  her  loneliness  and 
grief. 

The    list  of  his   crimes   was   formallv    read   to   the 


390  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

prisoner,  and  then  his  sentence  was  pronounced  by  the 
king,  and  the  executioner  was  ordered  to  lead  him 
away. 

Mushteri  looked  upon  the  guilty  wretch  before  him, 
and  remembered  the  years  of  malice  with  which  this 
man  had  followed  him.  He  remembered  the  faithful 
father  who  but  for  him  might  still  be  living,  and  he 
felt  that  the  sentence  was  just,  but  was  not  mercy  the 
better  part  of  valor  ?  Could  another  death  bring  back 
the  dead  or  aid  in  any  way  the  living  ?  Surely  not; 
and  stepping  forward  with  the  grace  of  one  who  was 
accustomed  to  the  presence  of  royalty,  he  besought  the 
king  to  forgive  this  relentless  foe  and  let  him  go  back 
in  peace  to  his  aged  father.  Keiwan  looked  in  aston- 
ishment upon  this  gallant  youth  who  could  plead  for 
so  relentless  a  foe,  almost  as  soon  as  he  was  released 
from  his  power,  and  he  hesitated  to  grant  the  strange 
request. 

Mushteri  then  knelt  before  the  king  and  continued 
his  plea,  while  the  officers  of  the  court  looked  on  in 
wonder.  At  last,  however,  the  king  yielded,  and  told 
Mushteri  that  he  might  loosen  the  bonds  of  the  pris- 
oner. There  was  no  reproach  in  the  kind  eyes  of  the 
victor  as  he  came  forward  and  unfastened  with  his  own 
hands  the  fetters  of  Behriim.  The  prisoner  looked 
amazed  and  humiliated ;  he  had  nerved  himself  to  meet 
the  executioner  with  a  sullen  courage;  but  freedom,  and 
that,  too,  from  the  man  whom  he  had  so  grievously 
and  persistently  wronged,  he  was  unprepared  for,  and 
he  broke  down  in  a  flood  of  tears. 

Mushteri  led  him  to  the  door  of  the  council  cham- 
ber, and  bade  him  go  to  his  home  and  friends. 


MEHER    AND    MUSHTERI,    CONTINUED.  391 

"Alas  !"  said  he,  " I  have  no  home — I  have  no  friends. 
I  have  outraged  the  confidence  of  the  Shah,  there  is 
no  room  for  me  in  his  dominions,  and  even  the  father 
who  taught  me  the  lessons  of  hypocrisy  is  now  ashamed 
of  his  son.  I  have  no  home  but  the  desert — no  friend 
but  death." 

He  went  away,  but  the  disappointed  malice,  and  the 
hopeless  future,  had  wrought  a  change  in  the  strong 
man  that  he  was  powerless  to  overcome;  he  returned 
to  his  caravan  which  had  been  restored  to  him  by  the 
intercession  of  Meher  and  Mushteri,  but  in  a  few  days 
his  lifeless  body  was  found  upon  the  plains,  and  his 
servants  claimed  that  he  had  died  by  his  own  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

MEHER    AND    MUSHTER1— CONCLUDED. 

THE   WEDDING  —  A   COUNCIL — ROYAL  CAVALCADE — THE 
MESSENGER — RECEPTION. 

A  PAVILION  was  built  beneath  the  palm  trees, 
and  the  fire-flies  lit  their  signals  afresh  in  the 
thickets  of  foliage,  for  it  was  amidst  the  shades  of 
the  garden  that  the  singers  were  placed,  whose  sweet- 
est notes  were  to  be  poured  forth  at  the  royal  wed- 
ding. Within  the  palace,  the  courts  were  all  ablaze 
with  light  and  loveliness;  lamps  of  graven  silver  were 
swinging  from  the  fretted  roof,  suspended  by  long 
chains,  and  fed  with  the  perfumed  oils  of  distant 
lands.  Their  soft  light  fell  on  silken  hangings  and 
tapestries  from  Eastern  looms,  while  crystal  vases 
gleamed  here  and  there,  filled  with  branches  of  orange 
trees  or  sprays  of  magnolia  blossoms.  It  was  here 
that  Meher  received  his  royal  bride,  and  when  the 
ceremony  was  finished,  the  notes  of  music  floated  in 
through  the  casement,  and  mingled  with  the  breath 
of  the  flowers.  Still  nearer  seemed  to  come  the 
dream-like  harmonies,  as  the  tones  of  pipe  and  lute 
were  mingled  with  the  voices  of  the  singers  and  the 
musical  ripple  of  the  fountains. 

Then  the  dancing  girls  floated  into  the  bright  halls, 
and  swayed  gracefully  through  the  soft   measures,   and 


MEHEU   AND   MUSHTEKI,    CONCLUDED.  393 

all  was  motion,  light  and  jewels.  Golden  chains  were 
woven  in  their  dark  hair,  and  silver  bangles  gleamed 
upon  the  shapely  ankles,  where  little  bells  kept  time 
with  gliding  feet.  Each  dancer  held  a  dainty  lute  of 
gold  and  sandal  wood,  which  answered  to  the  swaying 
of  her  arms  and  the  soft  beat  of  graceful  hands. 
And  still  the  music  from  without  floated  through  the 
lattice  and  mingled  with  the  harmonies  within.  But 
in  this  festal  scene  Love  was  the  honored  guest.  He 
came  to  rule  the  court  and  grove ;  his  were  the  sym- 
phonies that  breathed  a  richer  note  than  all  the  gar- 
den singers  ;  his  were  the  harmonies  that  shaped  the 
loyal  lives,  and  led  the  happy  feet  along  the  aisles  of 
time. 

Bewildered  with  the  beauty  and  love  of  his  bride, 
Meher  lived  for  weeks  unheeding  the  lapse  of  time, 
for  all  the  days  were  crowned  with  gold  and  radiant 
with  the  blossoms  of  love.  But  there  came  a  morning 
when  the  picture  of  his  grieving  mother  was  forced 
upon  his  heart  and  mind  with  all  its  power,  and  he 
remembered  that  not  alone  to  his  lovely  wife  belonged 
his  fealty. 

They  were  sitting  together  beneath  the  sheltering 
branches  of  a  great  magnolia  tree,  whose  creamy  flow- 
ers were  bursting  from  the  green  sheath  of  the  bud, 
and  the  air  was  rich  with  fragrance.  On  the  green 
bank  beyond  them,  the  peacocks  drew  their  gorgeous 
trains,  and  birds  sang  in  the  tall  trees  in  the  distance. 

The  dark  eyes  of  the  prince  had  a  look  of  sadness 
in  them,  and  there  was  a  cloud,  the  first  that  Nahid 
hud  ever  seen  upon  his  handsome  brow ;  she  drew 
closer  within  the  sheltering  arm,  and  her  soft,  dark 


394  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

eyes  looked  anxiously  into  his.  His  own  heart  read 
her  pleading  question,  even  before  her  lips  had  framed 
it,  and  then  he  told  her  of  the  loving  mother  who 
was  grieving  her  life  away  amidst  the  splendors  of 
another  court — of  the  faithful  heart  that  looked  long- 
ingly for  his  return  and  refused  to  be  comforted,  be- 
cause he  came  not. 

"But  what  can  we  do?"  questioned  the  princess. 
"Thou  canst  not  leave  the  wife  to  go  even  to  the 
mother." 

"No,"  answered  the  prince,  "but  can  I  not  take 
my  bride  with  me  ?  Can  I  not  take  my  peerless  pearl 
to  the  royal  court  which  is  my  rightful  inheritance  ? 
Can  I  not  bear  to  her  arms  the  beauteous  daughter 
that  I  have  given  her  ?  Surely  my  wife  should  re- 
ceive my  mother's  blessing  !  Let  me  take  thee  there 
before  the  faithful  mother-heart  is  cold  in  death." 

"  But  my  father,"  faltered  Nahid,  "  will  he  con- 
sent ?  Will  he  allow  thee  to  bear  me  away  to  a 
strange  land  to  claim  the  lost  inheritance  ?" 

"The  king  should  remember  that  not  only  filial 
love  demands  my  return,  but  I  can  never  make  my 
bride  the  queen  that  she  should  be — I  can  never  place 
a  royal  crown  upon  her  lovely  brow  unless  I  return 
to  the  land  of  my  fathers,"  answered  the  prince ;  and 
then  he  told  her,  with  loving  thought,  of  the  land 
where  the  palms  grew  higher  by  striving  toward  the 
sun,  of  the  marble  palaces  of  Istakhar,  standing  be- 
side the  river  that  came  down  from  the  heights  rip- 
pling with  low  harmonies,  as  the  waves  dashed  on 
the  sanded  shores ;  told  her,  too,  of  the  mountains 
beyond  the  marble  city,  where  the  wild  swans  came 


MEHER   AND   MCSHTERI,    CONCLUDED.  395 

to  their  nesting  places,— white  voyagers  on  the  seas  of 
blue,  calling,  in  soft  notes,  down  the  line,  while  love 
was  leading  them  homeward,  to  the  sheltered  nooks 
beside  the  pools  of  the  mountain  stream. 

Long  they  stayed  in  loving  converse,  and  when 
they  turned  to  the  palace  court,  the  prince  had  won 
from  his  bride  a  promise  that  she  would  see  the  king, 
and  win,  if  possible,  his  consent  to  the  long  bridal 
trip,  that  she  now  looked  forward  to  with  pleasure. 

ROYAL  CAVALCADE. 

The  king  listened  patiently  to  the  plea  of  Nahid, 
for  though  he  knew  that  the  long  journey  would  take 
her  from  him,  perhaps  forever,  he  also  knew  that  the 
throne  of  Persia  might  be  waiting  for  their  coming, 
and  at  last  he  consented  that  the  prince  should  bear 
his  bride  away  to  wear  a  crown  in  the  halls  of  the 
proud  Sassanian  kings. 

But  she  should  not  go  dowerless  to  the  home  of  her 
husband.  Keiwan  therefore  gave  orders  for  the  fitting 
out  of  a  magnificent  cavalcade,  comprising  a  thousand 
camels  of  the  purest  Syrian  blood,  a  thousand  splendid 
Arabian  steeds  and  a  thousand  Indian  slaves,  besides  a 
military  escort  composed  of  the  finest  troops  in  the 
service  of  the  king. 

The  morning  was  radiant  with  golden  sunlight  when 
the  splendid  procession  left  the  city  of  Kharizm ;  the 
streets  were  gorgeous  with  flags,  and  branches  of  flow- 
ering trees  stood  by  every  doorway,  while  the  palace 
itself  was  covered  with  silken  banners,  lightly  draped 
with  wreaths  of  flowers.  The  excited  horses,  with  their 
golden  caparisons,  tossed  their  heads  in  the  air,  and 


396  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

pranced  with  joy  as  the  strains  of  music  rang  out 
from  the  balconies  around  them,  and  the  camels  gently 
shook  their  light-toned  bells  in  every  passing  breeze. 
Hundreds  of  banners  floated  above  the  troops  and  waved 
like  the  wings  of  birds  in  the  sunlight ;  the  gleam- 
ing swords  of  the  warriors  were  pointed  up  to  heaven, 
and  a  thousand  voices  rang  with  joyous  acclamation. 
Keiwan  and  his  queen  rode  in  the  imperial  chariot 
immediately  behind  the  camels  bearing  the  luxurious 
cushions  of  the  prince  and  his  bride,  for  they  traveled 
a  day's  journey  with  them  before  bidding  their  chil- 
dren farewell,  and  then  returned  sorrowfully  to  their 
lonely  palace  home. 

The  gorgeous  cavalcade  moved  slowly  onward,  over 
hill  and  plain,  and  through  a  forest  where  all  the 
branches  laughed  with  songs  of  birds,  and  trusses  of 
scarlet  pomegranate  blossoms  gleamed  here  and  there 
through  the  rich  foliage.  When  night  came  down 
upon  the  landscape  an  encampment  was  made  beside 
a  river,  and  pavilions  of  scarlet  and  gold  were  fur- 
nished with  costly  cushions  that  invited  repose. 

THE    MESSENGER. 

The  uneventful  days  passed  slowly  by,  and  still  the 
great  cavalcade  was  far  from  its  destination,  when 
Meher  ordered  his  especial  attendant  to  mount  one  of 
the  swiftest  Arabian  horses  and  carry  a  letter  to  his 
father  asking  if  he  wished  him  to  return. 

The  Persian  monarch  was  sitting  in  the  council  hall 
surrounded  by  his  counselors,  and  they  were  consider- 
ing an  important  affair  of  state  when  a  messenger  was 
announced.  He  was  ordered  into  an  adjoining  room 


MEHER  AND   MUSHTERI,    CONCLUDED.  397 

to  wait  until  King  Shapur  was  ready  to  receive  him, 
and  here  he  could  look  upon  the  once  familiar  form 
of  his  sovereign. 

He  was  astonished  to  see  how  greatly  the  Shah  had 
changed  with  the  passing  years ;  only  three  times  had 
the  seasons  made  their  cycles,  and  yet  the  stalwart 
form  was  bent  as  if  with  age,  the  dark  hair  was  al- 
ready silvered  and  the  furrows  upon  the  weary  brow 
told  that  grief  and  remorse  were  leaving  their  impress 
upon  his  once  serene  countenance.  At  last  the  word 
was  brought  that  the  messenger  could  now  approach  the 
king,  but  he  replied  that  his  was  a  secret  mission,  he 
must  see  his  majesty  alone,  and  after  a  time  he  was 
ushered  into  the  private  audience  room. 

He  then  told  the  king  that  he  brought  him  news 
from  Behram,  who  had  obtained  a  magnificent  caravan 
under  the  pretext  of  finding  the  prince.  The  king 
listened  eagerly  while  the  messenger  gave  a  graphic 
description  of  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  Mushteri 
but  his  brow  darkened  with  an  ominous  frown  as  the 
recital  continued.  He  had  been  the  prey  of  evil  ad- 
visers who  cared  only  to  flatter  him  for  their  own 
gain,  and  in  the  years  that  had  gone  he  sadly  missed  the 
faithful  advice  and  unfailing  loyalty  of  his  old  Vizir. 
He  often  reproached  himself  as  the  indirect  cause  of 
his  death,  and  decreed  in  his  heart  that  if  the  ban- 
ished son  could  be  found  he  should  be  recompensed, 
so  far  as  lay  in  his  power,  for  all  sufferings  of  the 
past.  When,  therefore,  he  learned  of  the  persistent 
brutality  of  Behrum  his  anger  grew  almost  uncontrol- 
able.  He  inquired  anxiously  for  the  prince.  "  You 
bring  me  bad  news  enough;"  he  cried,  "can  you  give 


398  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

me  no  knowledge  of  my  son?"  And  he  answered: 
"  Oh,  king,  great  and  mighty  ruler  of  the  wide  realm, 
I  can  bring  thee  news  of  the  prince,  for  I  .have  seen 
him  in  a  foreign  court."  "Where  didst  thou  see  him  ? 
What  is  he  doing,  and  why  does  he  not  return  to  the 
land  of  his  fathers?"  he  rapidly  questioned.  "  He 
has  risen,  oh,  king,  to  great  eminence  at  the  court  of 
a  foreign  potentate,  and  he  hath  no  need  to  return  to 
thee,  but  his  heart  yearns  for  his  native  land  ;  he  cares 
much  to  spend  his  years  near  to  the  father  whom  he 
still  loves,  and  he  longs  to  take  his  beloved  mother 
into  his  arms  again.  I  have  brought  thee  a  letter  from 
him,"  and  then  he  placed  the  document  in  the  royal 
hand.  "A  letter!"  cried  the  Shah,  ''a  letter  from 
my  son  ! "  and  he  ceased  to  be  a  king,  for  now  he  was 
only  a  father,  and  the  manly  tears  coursed  down  his 
cheeks  as  he  caught  the  precious  missive  and  pressed 
the  hand  of  the  messenger. 

As  soon  as  he  could  read  the  communication  from 
Meher  he  called  for  writing  materials,  and  with  his 
own  hand  he  penned  a  long  and  loving  letter  to  his 
son,  telling  him  that  not  only  his  home  but  also  the 
Persian  crown  awaited  his  coming,  urging  him  to 
return  and  bring  with  him  the  faithful  friend  who  had 
suffered  so  much  on  account  of  his  loyalty  to  the 
prince.  Then  he  hastened  the  messenger  away,  that  he 
might  reach  Meher  at  the  earliest  possible  moment, 
and  he  himself  went  to  bear  the  glad  tidings  to  the 
sorrowful  queen. 

The  next  day  a  proclamation  was  issued  that  the 
heir  of  the  throne  was  coming  to  the  capital  city,  and 
orders  were  given  to  the  Grand  Vizir,  to  the  chamber- 


MEHER  AND   MUSIITEKI,    CONCLUDED.  399 

lains  and  other  officers  of  the  crown  that  suitable  pre- 
parations be  made  to  welcome  the  prince  and  his  bride. 

THE   EECEPTION. 

The  announcement  of  his  coming  was  a  signal  for 
general  rejoicing  ;  even  the  children  loved  the  young 
heir  and  knew  the  story  of  fraternal  affection  between 
him  and  Miishteri.  The  Shah  had  been  bitterly  blamed 
in  the  hearts  of  his  subjects,  although  such  was  the 
force  of  Oriental  despotism  that  a  man  scarcely  knew 
the  thought  of  his  neighbor.  Never  were  the  impe- 
rial orders  more  willingly  obeyed  than  when  the  Shah 
commanded  a  festal  scene  to  be  arranged  for  the  re- 
ception of  Meher,  and  never  was  the  marble  city  fairer 
than  when  the  coming  of  the  royal  cavalcade  was  an- 
nounced. Silken  banners  waved  in  triumph  from  every 
wall  and  battlement,  while  strains  of  martial  music 
floated  through  the  air,  and  the  streets  were  strewn 
with  white  lilies  and  the  fragrant  roses  of  Persia. 
Gilded  barges  on  the  river  wore  their  festal  flags,  and 
bore  the  minstrels  down  the  stream  to  the  shore,  where 
the  voices  of  singers  were  mingled  with  the  notes  of 
lute  and  psaltery. 

Without  the  city  the  Persian  road  of  palms  was  fes- 
tooned with  arches  of  roses  and  strewn  with  the  flowers 
of  the  valley,  for  all  the  way  was  glad  with  blossoms 
and  vocal  with  the  songs  of  welcome. 

In  the  early  morning  a  swiftly-mounted  courier  had 
been  stationed  on  an  eminence  a  few  miles  from  the 
city,  where  he  could  see  the  approaching  cavalcade  far 
down  the  valley,  and  when  he  rode  into  the  city  with 
the  message  that  the  advance  guard  was  already  in 


400  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

sight  there  were  loud  acclamations  of  joy.  For  hours 
the  finest  horses  in  the  royal  stables  had  stood  impa- 
tient, with  tossing  plumes  and  gorgeous  trappings, 
waiting  for  the  advance,  and  now  the  Shah,  with  his 
chosen  guard,  rode  out  in  royal  state  to  meet  the  com- 
ing prince. 

The  white  Arabian  steeds,  the  costly  armor  of  the 
troops  and  the  rich  raiment  of  the  Shah,  made  a  gor- 
geous picture  in  the  sunlight,  when  they  swept  down 
through  the  rose-covered  arches  and  under  the  palms. 
As  they  rode  onward  a  new  strain  of  music  saluted 
their  ears,  and  a  long  line  of  camels  came  swinging 
slowly  into  view,  their  heads  tufted  with  bright  tassels, 
while  their  light-toned  bells  were  shaking  silvery  notes 
upon  the  air,  and  their  drivers  were  singing  and  play- 
ing on  pipes.  But  lo !  the  lines  were  opened  for  a 
small  troop  of  horsemen  who  galloped  towards  the 
Shah,  and  Meher,  swinging  gracefully  down  from  the 
saddle,  came  to  his  father's  feet. 

King  Shapur  quickly  recognized  the  familiar  face, 
and  hastily  dismounting,  he  caught  his  son  in  his  arms. 
The  hardy  Persian  soldiers  turned  away  from  the  sa- 
cred scene  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  but  after  a  time 
Mushteri  came  forward,  and  humbly  kneeling  at  the 
monarch's  feet  he  craved  forgiveness.  The  Shah  laid 
his  hand  upon  the  head  of  him  who,  in  his  childhood, 
had  seemed  almost  as  near  as  his  own  eon,  and  freely 
gave  the  royal  pardon  ;  then  the  lines  were  reformed. 
Meher  and  Mushteri  riding  on  either  side  of  the  king, 
and  the  horses  were  turned  toward  Istakhar. 

The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  western  mountains 
when  the  cavalcade  approached  the  gates  of  the  city, 


MEHER   AND    MUSHTERI,    CONCLUDED.  401 

and  the  dark  thickets  by  the  roadside  were  vocal  with 
the  song  of  the  nightingale ;  but  his  voice  was  soon 
hushed  by  the  notes  of  martial  music  and  the  tri- 
umphant shouts  of  welcome  that  greeted  their  first 
appearance  to  the  people  who  had  been  held  back  by 
the  spears  of  the  soldiery.  Although  the  distant  peaks 
still  wore  the  crimson  crowns  of  sunset,  the  side  of  the 
mountain  was  already  dark  with  the  gathering  shades 
of  twilight,  and  signal  fires  flashed  from  the  gray 
depths  of  the  forest  or  blazed  upon  the  leafless  slopes 
of  granite  beyond  them.  Within  the  city  all  was  joy- 
ous tumult ;  but  Meher  had  little  heart  for  the  gen- 
eral rejoicing,  and  scarcely  waiting  to  be  announced 
he  hurried  away  to  the  apartments  of  his  mother.  A 
little  later  the  Princess  Nahid  was  ushered  into  the 
rooms  of  the  queen,  and  was  folded  closely  to  the 
warm,  loving  heart,  so  fully  prepared  to  receive  her. 
Little  cared  the  mother  for  the  wondrous  beauty  of 
the  princess,  but  much  she  valued  the  loyal  heart 
which  had  been  given  so  fully  into  the  keeping  of  her 
son,  and  from  that  day  forth  she  was  cherished  as  a 
loving  daughter  in  the  royal  household. 

The  days  flew  by  on  joyous  feet,  but  King  Shapur 
was  weary  of  the  cares  of  state — weary  of  a  life  whose 
very  pleasures  were  burdened  with  responsibility  and 
embittered  with  the  knowledge  that  treachery  waited 
only  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  show  her  cruel 
fangs.  He  therefore  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son, 
and  voluntarily  invested  Meher  with  the  robes  of  sov- 
ereignty. 

All  the  resources  of  the  kingdom  were  taxed  to 
provide  for  the  splendors  of  the  coronation  ceremony. 


402  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

Again  the  royal  procession  swept  through  the  streets, 
and  feasts  were  given  where  the  richest  wines  of  the 
East  were  poured  in  jeweled  cups  and  the  tables  were 
laden  with  the  choicest  viands  from  many  climes. 
There  were  plantains,  golden  and  green,  and  grapes  of 
gold;  there  were  apples  and  pomegranates  from  Kabul, 
apricots  from  the  fairest  gardens  of  Iran,  and  the  sun- 
niest fruits  in  all  the  lands  of  the  Orient. 

Again  the  dark  face  of  the  mountain  blazed  forth 
at  night  with  the  signal-lights  of  victory,  the  river 
was  covered  with  barges  bearing  illuminations,  and  the 
night  rivaled  the  day  in  the  splendor  of  its  offerings 
at  the  feet  of  the  new  Shah,  and  Mushteri,  his  Grand 
Vizir. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CONCLUSION. 
SUMMARY — PRIESTLY   RULE — RUSSIAN  OPPRESSION. 

TTTE  have  now  passed  in  review  the  principal  fea- 
*  '  tures  of  a  great  literature  from  its  early  my- 
thology to  the  time  when  the  rule  of  priestcraft, 
combined  with  political  tyranny,  seems  to  have 
quenched  the  fire  of  Persian  genius. 

The  empire  gathered  to  herself  the  culture  of  ancient 
Nineveh  and  the  poetic  dreams  of  Chaldea,  but,  not 
content  with  the  heritage  which  she  received  from 
more  ancient  kingdoms,  she  developed,  from  resources 
peculiarly  her  own,  a  literature  which  is  rich  in  all 
that  pertains  to  Oriental  fancy.  Her  mythology,  like 
that  of  other  Aryan  races,  is  traceable  to  the  system 
of  sensual  idolatry  which  flourished  in  the  valley  of 
the  Euphrates  ;  the  origin  of  her  myths  was  found  -in 
the  "sacred  groves  of  Baal,"  and  around  the  altars  of 
Ashtaroth. 

Merodach  and  Nebo,  Moloch  and  Chemosh  reap- 
peared in  later  times  in  other  lands,  and  under  differ- 
ent names,  but  still  with  the  same  characteristics 
which  they  had  in  the  land  of  their  birth. 

We  have  seen  the  gradual  growth  of  her  Zend- 
Avesta  with  the  inauguration  of  her  system  of  wor- 
ship, and  noted  the  fact  there  was  originally  a  close 


404  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

connection  between  the  Veda  and  the  Zend-Avesta,  al- 
though the  Persian  work  was  of  later  origin. 

Some  of  the  Hindu  gods  bear  the  same  names  in 
the  Avesta  that  were  applied  to  them  in  the  Sanskrit 
poems,  although  in  the  later  books  they  may  appear 
as  evil  spirits,  and  the  same  god  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented as  an  angel,  and  again  as  a  fiend. 

Indra,  the  storm-king  of  the  Veda,  was  the  god  of 
war,  for  whom  the  Rishis  made  and  drank  the  intoxi- 
cating Soma,  while  in  the  Vendidad l  he  is  expressly 
mentioned  in  the  list  of  evil  spirits,  and  is  second 
only  to  Ahriman,  the  arch-fiend  of  the  Avesta.  But 
another  name  for  Indra  in  the  Vedic  songs  is  Vri- 
traha,  and  this  name  is  recognized  as  that  of  the  angel 
Verethragna;  hence  it  follows  that  under  one  name 
the  god  is  cursed  and  feared  as  a  fiend,  while  under 
another  he  is  worshipped  as  an  angel. 

The  name  of  Deva  in  the  Vedas,  and  in  all  Brahman- 
ical  literature,  is  applied  to  divine  beings  who  are  still 
worshipped  by  the  Hindus,  while  in  the  Avesta,  from 
the  earliest  to  the  latest  texts,  and  even  in  modern 
Persian  literature,  Deva  is  a  name  applied  to  a  fiend. 
The  word  Asura,  although  used  in  a  good  sense  in  the 
early  songs  of  the  Rig-veda,  becomes,  in  the  later  por- 
tions of  that  literature,  as  well  as  in  the  Brahmanas 
and  Puranas,  a  term  which  is  applied  only  to  evil 
spirits ;  they  are  represented  as  the  constant  enemies 
of  the  Hindu  gods,  always  making  attacks  upon  the 
sacrifices  offered  by  devotees.  In  the  Avesta,  Asura. 
in  the  form  of  Ahura,  becomes  a  component  part  of 
Ahura  Mazda,  which  is  the  name  of  God  among  the 

i  Yen.,  XIX,  43. 


CONCLUSION.  405 

Parsls,  whose  faith  is  called  "the  Ahura  religion"1  in 
order  to  distinctively  indicate  its  opposition  to  the 
Deva  religion. 

The  Vedic  god,  Vayu  (the  wind),  is  readily  recog- 
nized in  the  spirit  Vayu  in  the  Avesta,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  be  roaming  everywhere. 

Another  instance  of  a  deity  who  is  scarcely  changed 
in  any  way  is  Mithra,  the  Sanskrit  form  of  which  is 
Mitra.  In  the  Rig-veda  "  Mitra  calls  men  to  their 
work ;  Mitra  is  preserving  earth  and  heaven ;  Mitra 
looks  upon  the  nations  always  without  shutting  his 
eyes."  In  the  A  vesta  he  is  also  the  lord  of  the  morn- 
ing, the  god  of  day,  and  the  object  of  profound  adora- 
tion. 

These  are  but  a  few  out  of  many  similarities,  and 
the  careful  student  of  the  Veda  and  the  Avesta  will 
also  notice  the  identity  of  many  terms  referring  to 
priestly  functions.  The  very  name  of  "priest"  in  the 
Zend-Avesta  is  atharva,  and  it  is  merely  another  form 
of  atharvan,  which  is  the  term  applied  to  the  priest 
of  fire  and  Soma,  in  the  Vedas.2 

These  and  many  other  similarities  do  not  necessa- 
rily prove  that  the  Zend-Avesta  was  partially  copied 
from  the  Veda,  but  they  do  prove  that  "the  Veda 
and  the  Zend-Avesta  are  two  rivers  flowing  from  one 
fountain  head  ;  the  stream  of  the  Veda  is  the  fuller 
and  purer,  and  has  remained  truer  to  its  original  char- 
acter;  that  of  the  Zend-Avesta  has  been  in  various 
ways  polluted,  has  altered  its  course,  and  cannot,  with 
certainty,  be  traced  back  to  its  source."3  Nevertheless, 

i  Yasna,  XII,  9,  p.  174.  «  Dr.  Haug,  Essays,  p.  2. 67 

3  Prof.  Roth,  Tubingen.    Chips,  p.  86. 


406  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

their  common  origin  must  be  assigned  to  the  early 
Indo-Iranian  traditions. 

Besides  the  official  copy  of  the  sacred  books,  which 
was  burned  by  Alexander  with  the  palace  of  the  Per- 
sian king  at  Persepolis,  there  were  other  copies,  or 
at  least  portions  of  them,  and  these  the  first  Sassa- 
nian  kings  collected,  and  compiled  from,  them,  as  far 
as  possible,  their  sacred  literature.  For  more  than 
five  centuries  after  Alexander,  the  empire  of  Persia 
suffered  from  foreign  despotism  and  internal  dissen- 
sions, but  during  this  long  period  of  political  unrest, 
the  Sassanian  kings  were  able  to  collect  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  old  writings,  even  though  the  litera- 
ture which  was  thus  restored  consisted  chiefly  of  frag- 
ments ;  it  appears,  however,  that  some  portion  of 
nearly  every  book  was  recovered  by  the  zeal  of  these 
monarchs,  and  therefore  the  total  disappearance  of 
some  of  them  must  be  assigned  to  more  recent  times. 

A  still  greater  disaster  awaited  the  books  of  the 
Persians  at  the  hand  of  the  Moslem  invader,  when 
the  Arabian  horde  swept  over  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
Persia  like  a  simoon  from  the  desert.  Every  tree  and 
flower  seemed  to  feel  the  withering  touch  of  the  bar- 
barian, and  the  authority  of  the  Koran  was  enforced 
with  the  logic  of  the  sword.  "  Ye  know  your  option, 
ye  Christian  dogs  ;  the  Koran,  tribute,  or  the  sword," 
was  the  dictum  of  the  conqueror  wherever  the  Moslem 
flag  was  triumphant,  and  at  last  the  Star  and  Cres- 
cent floated  over  the  land  of  "  the  Lion  and  the  Sun  " 
— her  nationality  was  humiliated  and  crushed,  while 
her  treasures  of  literature  were  again  destroyed  by  a 
foreign  foe.  The  kingdom  of  Persia  now  entered  upon 


CONCLUSION".  407 

the  long  night  of  Mohammedan  rule.  Her  sacred  books 
were  swept  from  the  land,  the  Koran  became  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  Zend-Avesta,  and  many  of  the  Pareia 
went  into  voluntary  exile,  finding  upon  the  shores  of 
India  that  freedom  which  was  denied  them  upon  their 
native  soil.  Even  the  Persian  tongue  was  placed  under 
a  ban,  and  Arabic  became  the  legal  language  of  court 
and  council  hall. 

The  Persians  were  conquered,  but  not  subdued ;  the 
national  spirit  still  lived  in  their  hearts,  and  in  more 
than  one  instance  the  conquest  was  repeated — for,  in 
the  defence  of  their  nationality  and  their  faith,  they 
rebelled  in  different  portions  of  the  country  and  fought 
desperately  against  the  hated  Arab.  They  were  subju- 
gated at  last,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  accepted  even 
the  religion  of  the  invader,  but  the  vitality  of  the 
Persian  character  was  not  destroyed. 

After  a  time,  a  few  of  the  subordinate  rulers,  who 
were  natives,  rebelled  against  the  tyranny  of  the  Arabic 
tongue,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  the  Persian  lan- 
guage to  a  great  extent  in  its  rightful  domain.  The 
national  spirit  again  rallied,  Persian  poets  were  en- 
couraged, traditions  of  the  empire  were  once  more 
collected,  and  the  composition  of  a  great  national  epic 
became  possible.  The  Shah  Namah,  which  was  writ- 
ten under  royal  patronage,  has  lived  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  more  than  eight  hundred  years,  and  is 
still  the  most  popular  Persian  classic.  Other  centuries 
followed,  bearing  the  names  of  distinguished  poets  and 
scholars,  the  cities  of  Bokhara,  Samarcand  and  Bag- 
dad became  great  literary  centers,  their  colleges  and 
libraries  being  celebrated  throughout  the  East. 


408  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

But  again  the  power  of  brute  force  was  destined 
to  sweep  away  the  bulwarks  of  civilization,  and  Gen- 
ghis Khan,  the  Tartar  chief,  came  down  like  a  moun- 
tain storm  upon  the  fairest  provinces  of  the  Orient. 
The  principal  cities  were  pillaged  and  burned  by  the 
Tartar  horde,  colleges  were  destroyed,  and  the  most 
valuable  books  in  the  libraries  were  thrown  into  the 
Tigris. 

These  were  times  which  tried  the  hearts  of  men. 
for  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  lives  were  sacri- 
ficed to  the  cruelty  of  the  invading  host.  Scholars 
were  driven  to  various  places  of  refuge,  and  the  sci- 
ence of  letters  received  an  almost  fatal  blow. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  illustrious  names  upon 
the  records  of  the  Persian  literati,  even  after  the 
close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  such  was  the  in- 
tellectual vitality  of  the  people  that  lyric  poetry  and 
rhetoric  were  well  developed  during  these  stormy  times 
in  the  political  and  military  world,  for  the  empire  had 
still  many  men  of  culture,  and  also  boasted  of  one 
literary  king, 

PRIESTLY    RULE. 

Nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  have  their  periods 
of  growth,  prosperity  and  decay.  It  is  seldom  that 
they  arise  from  an  age  of  great  prostration  and  regain 
their  former  strength  and  brilliancy. 

History,  however,  furnishes  bright  exceptions  to 
this  general  rule,  and  Persia  has  repeatedly  recovered 
herself  from  the  ravages  of  foreign  conquest.  Three 
times  her  territory  has  been  invaded  when  the  design 
of  the  conqueror  has  apparently  been  the  extermina- 


CONCLUSION.  409 

tion  of  the  science  of  letters,  and  three  times  she  has 
rallied  bravely  from  the  shock  and  rebuilded  her  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  founding  a  new  national  litera- 
ture upon  the  ruins  of  the  old. 

Her  literature  of  to-day  is  profuse  in  quantity, 
consisting  largely  of  the  various  forms  of  romance,1 
but  the  best  works  of  Persian  authors  belong  to  the 
centuries  past.  Perhaps  she  might  rally  even  the 
fourth  time,  and  resume  her  old  position  in  the  world 
of  letters,  but  she  is  held  in  a  state  of  lethargy  by 
the  benumbing  influence  of  a  Mohammedan  priesthood. 
Even  the  Shah  rules  only  by  the  permission  of  this 
power,  being  looked  upon  as  the  vicegerent  of  the 
prophet,  and  the  laws  of  the  nation  are  subject  to 
the  dictation  of  the  priests. 

They  stand  in  the  way  of  all  progress,  as  even 
a  railway  cannot  be  laid  without  their  permission, 
much  less  can  institutions  of  learning  be  carried  on 
outside  of  their  control.  Official  corruption,  which 
seems  to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  some  of  the 
Eastern  nations,  gathers  new  power  from  the  influ- 
ence of  these  Mohammedan  mollahs,  and  a  large  share 
of  the  money  which  is  appropriated  for  public  im- 
provement eventually  finds  its  way  into  the  coffers  of 
the  king's  ministers. 

There  is  little  hope  of  intellectual  growth  under 
this  baneful  influence.  At  the  beginning  of  the  pres- 
ent century  Iranian  poetry  assumed  a  dramatic  form, 

i  There  are  also  many  so-called  historical  works,  which,  although  defi- 
cient in  sound  criticism,  and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  unreliable,  still  fur- 
nish some  curious  and  noteworthy  data.  They  have  translations  of  the 
Maha-bharata.  the  Ramaya/ia  and  other  standard  works  of  Sanskrit  litera- 
ture, but  the  original  fire  of  Persian  genius  appears  to  be  hopelessly 
crushed. 


410  PERSIAN    LITERATURE. 

but,  like  the  Greek  drama,  and  the  "Mysteries"  of 
the  Middle  ages,  it  is  the  offspring  of  a  religious  cere- 
mony, and  the  great  attraction  of  the  Persian  stage 
is  a  Moslem  passion  play,1  even  the  drama  of  the 
empire  being  under  the  control  of  her  conquerors. 

RUSSIAN   OPPRESSION. 

Not  only  is  the  nation  firmly  held  in  the  chains 
of  priestly  rule,  but  her  political  position  is  far  from 
enviable.  Upon  her  northern  border  stands  the  most 
unscrupulous  power  among  the  nations  of  the  East. 
The  black  eagles  of  the  Czar  are  ever  watching  for 
an  opportunity  to  invade  her  dominions,  ever  looking 
for  some  unusual  sign  of  internal  weakness  which  may 
throw  her  completely  into  their  power.  Russia  has 
justly  earned  a  reputation  which,  for  political  treach- 
ery, is  unequaled  among  the  children  of  men.  She 
makes  treaties  and  signs  the  most  solemn  pledges  of 
national  co-operation,  apparently  with  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity, and  then  breaks  them,  without  even  a  word  of 
apology,  whenever  she  can  gain  a  point  or  a  province 
by  so  doing. 

For  centuries  Russia  has  coveted  Constantinople  as 
the  key  of  the  East.  For  centuries  she  has  looked 

i  The  Tazieh  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  ceremony  which,  for  centuries,  the 
Persians  have  annually  performed  in  the  holy  month  Moharrem.  At  this 
time  they  celebrate  the  tragic  death  of  Hossein.  the  grandson  of  the  Prophet 
who  perished  with  all  his  house  at  the  hands  of  a  rival  for  the  honors  of  a 
caliphate.  The  month  of  mourning  is  largely  occupied  with  the  recitals 
and  ceremonies  pertaining  to  the  event:  halls  being  especially  constructed 
for  these  rhapsodies,  as  after  more  than  seven  hundred  years,  the  terrible 
scenes  of  the  tragedy  were  dramatized  and  placed  upon  the  Persian  stage. 
In  the  royal  Takieh,  or  theatre,  the  great  drama  is  unfolded  for  ten  success- 
ive days,  during  the  month  of  mourning,  while  in  all  other  portions  of  the 
empire  it  is  reproduced  with  more  or  less  power,  at  the  same  time. 


CONCLUSION.  411 

with  envious  eyes  upon  the  wealth  of  India,  and  she 
has  hesitated  at  no  policy  which  might  advance  her 
interests  by  extending  her  boundary  line. 

Great  Britain  stands  as  the  strongest  bulwark  in 
the  world  of  nations  against  the  insidious  diplomacy 
of  the  Muscovite,  which  seems  to  be  the  enemy  of 
all  civilization,  and  therefore  in  every  move  that  is 
made  in  the  political  world  of  either  Europe  or  Asia, 
Russia  is  ever  on  the  alert  to  defeat  the  plans  of 
England,  and  the  coming  conflict  in  the  Old  World 
will  doubtless  be  led  by  these  two  great  powers.  In- 
tending some  day  to  wrest  India  from  the  hand  of 
Great  Britain,  she  finds  Persia  standing  in  the  way 
of  her  design,  and  it  must  therefore  be  conquered  or 
absorbed.  By  the  most  unscrupulous  methods  known 
to  nations,  she  has  already  acquired  much  of  Persian 
territory,  and  the  process  of  absorption  is  renewed 
whenever  the  opportunity  offers. 

She  hesitates  at  no  oppression,  and  has  already 
ruined  Persian  commerce,  as  far  as  lay  in  her  power, 
by  permitting  the  transportation  of  goods  across  her 
territory,  only  under -restrictions  which  are  practically 
prohibitory.  Flattering  promises  are  carefully  com- 
bined with  threats  in  order  to  promote  her  designs, 
and  the  emissaries  of  Russia  are  abundant  in  Persia, 
and  even  in  Northern  India,  where  their  mission  is  to 
educate  a  public  sentiment  by  constantly  instilling 
into  the  minds  of  the  people  false  ideas  of  the 
magnificence  and  generosity  of  Russia.  These  men 
are  not  Russians,  for  they  would  attract  attention 
and  arouse  public  apprehension,  but  they  are  Asiatics, 
who  are  kept  at  work  by  Russian  gold,  making  lavish 


412  PERSIAN   LITERATURE. 

promises  of  Muscovite  benevolence  when  northern  bar- 
barism shall  succeed  English  civilization. 

While  engaged  in  thus  duping  the  Asiatic  tribes, 
she  is  pushing  her  railway  as  rapidly  as  possible 
toward  India,  and  preparing  for  war  on  a  greater  scale 
than  ever  before  in  her  history. 

The  record  of  her  political  policy  proves  that  she 
will  fasten  her  iron  hand  upon  the  vitals  of  a  nation, 
and  crush  out,  as  far  as  possible,  every  effort  toward 
progress,  until  the  crippled  empire  falls  into  her  fatal 
embrace.  Persia  has  little  hope  of  escaping  the  Rus- 
sian policy  of  oppression  and  absorption,  unless  either 
English  or  German  troops  are  allied  with  her  native 
forces  against  the  common  foe.  There  is  no  longer, 
therefore,  a  hope  that  Persian  literature  may  be  re- 
vived, and  the  intellectual  resources  of  the  empire 
again  developed,  unless  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe 
come  to  her  rescue.  The  yoke  of  Mohammedan  rule 
must  be  broken,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  northern 
barbarian  removed,  before  the  Persian  mind  and  heart 
can  be  stimulated  to  intellectual  and  moral  activity. 


INDEX. 


Abbas,  Shah,  335. 

Accad,  1,  2,  3,  4,  33,  51. 

Accadian,  66. 

Accadian  Tongue,  6,  31,  55. 

Achsemenes,  n  46. 

Achaemenian,  44,  46,  48. 

Achaemenidae,  50. 

Adarbad.  114. 

Adonis,  68,  77. 

Adonis  Phrygian,  42. 

Afrasiyab,  the  Tartar  Chief,  244, 

245,  247. 

Age,  Babylonian,  7. 
Agathokles,  10. 
Agni,  66,  107. 
Ahasuerus,  49. 

Ahriman,  48,  54,  99,  106,  129. 
Ahura    Mazda,  86,  94,   99,    108, 

128,  161. 

Akbar,  Shah,  334,  335. 
Akhuni,  59. 

Alborz,  Mount,  91,  98,  103, 
Alexander,    13,    14,   20,  21,   52, 

112.  113,  406  ;  book  of,  333. 
Allah-il-Allah,  23. 
Al-Fateh,  333. 
Almokaffa,  190. 
Alp  Arslan,  27. 

Amicable  Instruction,  189,  203. 
Anahid,  69. 
Anat,  56. 
Anderson,  n  96. 
Angra  Mainyu,  127,  129. 
Annatu,70. 

Antelope  and  Crow,  189,  205. 
Anthon,  76. 
Anu,  56,  69,  70. 


AnwSri,  284. 

Anwar-i-Suhali,  189,  215  ;  his- 
tory of,  190  ;  preface  of,  192. 

Apaosha,  101,  105. 

Aphrodite,  76. 

Apis  Egyptian,  87. 

Arabs,  166,  176,  183,  188. 

Arabia,  7,  46,  48,  166. 

Arabian  Conquest,  1,  22,  25. 

Arabian  Nights,  28. 

Arbela,  40, 

Architecture  of  Persepolis,  18. 

Ardvi  Sura  Anflhita,  93,  94. 

Arjasp,  272  ;  defeated  by  Isfen- 
diySr,  276. 

Armenia,  15,  48,  69. 

Arrianus,  n  36. 

Art,  Asiatic,  17. 

Art,  Greek,  5. 

Art,  Persian,  1,  16,  17,  18. 

Artaxerxes,  13,  30,  44,  49,  50. 

Aryan,  23. 

Arzang,  the  Demon  Chief,  259. 

Asia,  1,  8,  23,  39,  48. 

Ashtaroth,  8,  n  10,  n  54,  67,  68, 
77.  108. 

Assur,  53,  58,  59. 

Assur-banipal,  6,  36,  n  37,  55, 
69. 

Assyria,  6,  15,  33,  34,  35,  39,  46, 
48. 

Assyriologists,  34. 

Astarte,  n  10,  68. 

Asura,  404. 

Asteria,  68,  70. 

Atar,  86,  100. 

Augustus,  7. 

Aulad.  252  ;  capture  of,  257. 


413 


414 


INDEX. 


Avesta,  23,  54,  104,  107, 114, 115, 
116,  404. 


Baal,  8,  53,  66,  76,  107,  108. 

Baal  Moloch,  10. 

Babylon,  1,  6,  7,  10,  17  ;  fall  of, 

30,  36,  39,  41,  43. 
Babylonia,   3,  6,  15,  33,  55,  61; 

North,  3,  40,  65. 
Babylonians,  9,  41. 
Bahrain  Gor,  214. 
Bagdad,  311,  321,  407. 
Balder,  77. 
Bardes,  47. 
Bazindah,   195  ;   misfortunes  of, 

198  ;  return  of,  201. 
Beer,  44. 

Bees  and  their  Habits,  189,  193. 
Behistun  Inscriptions,  17,  30,  45, 

114. 

Behistun  Rock,  n  20. 
Bel,  10,  36,  40,  42,  52. 
Bel  Merodach,  56,  61,  62. 
Bellona,  69. 

Belshazzar,  35,  40,  42,  43. 
Benfey,  44. 
Berosus,  69. 
Beth-anath,  56. 

Bi-frost,  (Rainbow  Bridge),  103. 
Birds,  Mythical,  86,  95. 
Bird,  My,  321,  329. 
Birs,  Nimrud,  37. 
Blackstone,  Sir  Win.,  156. 
Blind  Man  and  his  Whip,  189, 

201. 

Bokhara,  309,  323,  407. 
Bombay,  161. 
Bores,  309,  320. 
Boscawen,     W.    St.    Chad,    40, 

n43. 

Bosphorus,  13. 
Bournouf,  31,  44, 116. 
Brahman  and  Ichneumon,  208. 
Brockhaus,  116. 
Buddha,  227. 
Budge,  E.  A.,  n  5,  n  37. 
Bundehesh,  112. 

Bustan,  25,  225,   309  ;    extracts 
from,  313. 


Calligraphy,  19,  335, 
Cambyses,  44,  45,  87. 
Canaan,  63. 

Canopus,  lights  of,  190. 
Captives,  The,  383. 
Capua,  John  of,  190. 
Capture,  the,  351,  352,  362. 
Cappadocia,  48,  69. 
Carthage,  48. 
Carthaginians,  10. 
Caucasus,  7. 
Cerberus,  102. 
Chaldea,  4,  64,  65,  103. 
Chaos,  wife  of  Hea,  59,  60. 
Chemosh,  53,  60,  63,  64,  65, 108. 
Chinvat    Bridge,    86,    103,   141, 

153,  157,  158. 
Chips  from  a  German  Workshop, 

n  109, n  126. 

Christians  persecuted,  104,  121. 
Christianity,  125,  167. 
Citagriva,  204. 
Circe,  74, 

Commentary,  127,  140. 
Comrades,  the  two,  338,  340. 
Conquest,  Mohammedan,  165. 
Constellations,  King  of,  67. 
Coptic  Girl,  174,  184,  185. 
Creation,  legend  of,  54. 
Cuneiform  inscriptions,  3,  6,  30. 
Curtius,  n  36,  n  113. 
Cutha,  54,  61. 
Cyprus,  6, 
Cyrus,  12,  15,  20,  28,  30,  40,  44, 

'47,  52,  118  :  decree  of,  20. 

i>. 

Dagon,  63. 

Daniel,  n  36,  40,  41. 

Damascus,  311. 

Darius,  9, 13,  20,  29,  45,  47,  49, 

50,  52  ;   and  his  Horsekeeper, 

309,  316. 
Darmesteter,  Prof.,  20,  n  110,  n 

150,  n  156. 
Dastur,  125. 

Datilla,  River  of  Death,  107. 
Dead,  Disposition  of,  146,  153. 
Delos,  68. 
Devas,  105. 


INDEX. 


415 


Demon,   White,    248,   252,   257, 

260  ;  slain,  260. 
Desert,  the,  351,  353. 
Diana,  75,  108. 
Dihkans,  22. 
Diodorus,  5,  nl!3. 
Diocletian,  114. 
Domitian,  50. 
Dogs,   importance  of,  147,   152, 

153,  156  ;  of  Yama,  153. 
Druj,  152. 
Dungi,  3. 
Duza,  42. 
Dynasty,  Achaeraenian,  25;  Gaz- 

nevides,  24,  25;  Sassanian,  20, 

21,  22. 

E. 

East  wick,  Prof.,  xiii,  191. 

Ecbatana,  20,  n  43. 

Ecclesiastes,  book  of,  310. 

Egebi,  9. 

Egypt,  6,  7,  15,  39,  46,  48,  49,  61. 

Flam,  7,  11,  69. 

Elamites,  3. 

Elephant  and  Jackal,  189,  209. 

England,  16,  411. 

Epic,  Persian,  24,  25,  214. 

Ephesus,  76,  108. 

Ephesians,  76. 

Eridu,  56,  67. 

Esar-haddon,  9,  n  37. 

Euphrates,  3,  5,  16,  35,  37. 

Evil  Spirits,  seven,  56,  57. 

Exiles,  the,  351. 

Exodus,  3. 

F. 

Features,  physical,  1, 15. 
Fimbul  Eddie,  130. 
Fire  god,  56, 57,  66,  107,  124. 
Fire,  sacred,  100,  124,  154, 155. 
Fire  worshippers,  124. 
Firdusi,  22,  25,  26, 118. 
Firdusi,  life  of,  216:  invective  of, 

214,  219;  death  of,  214,  223. 
Flattery,  wiles  of,  206,  209,  210, 

212. 

Flood,  33. 
Formulas,  140. 
Fravishas,  140,  160. 


France,  16. 
Frey,  77. 
Freyja,  76. 
Fugitives,  the,  365. 

G. 

Ganges,  92,  96, 107. 

Garuda,  96. 

Garden  scene,  365,  377,  381. 

Gathas,   20,  111,  113.  119,  127, 

130,  144. 

Gatba,  Last,  135. 
Gaznevides,  dynasty  of,  24,  25. 
Genesis,  33. 

Genghis  Khan,  309,  323. 
Gold,  chain  of,  333. 
Gobyras.  43. 
Greece,  4,  17,  27,  75. 
Griffin  of  Chivalry,  96. 
Grotofend,  31,  44. . 
Gulf,  Persian,  3,  15,  51. 
Gulistan,  25,  309;  stories  from. 

317. 

Gushtasp,  272,  277. 
Gyoll,  93,  107. 


Hades,  78;  queen  of,  60. 

Hafiz,  26,  321,   323,   331,    337; 
songs  of,  313,  326,  327. 

Halicarnassus,  49. 

Haoma.  142. 

Hara  Berezaita,  93,  99,  107,  158. 

Haug,  Dr.,  116. 

Hea,  53,  59,  60.  82, 

Hea-bani,  53,  60,  61. 

Heaven,  165,  180. 

Hecate,  70,  74,  75. 

Helbon,  14. 

Hel,  77. 

Hell,  165,  181. 

Herodotus,  20,  n  36, 45,  n  87, 129. 

Hercules,  63. 

Hermod,  77. 

Hezekiah,  King,  35. 

Higrah,  the,  165,  172. 

Hindus,  9,  58,  65,  92,  95  ;  my- 
thology of,  89.  104. 

Hincks,  Dr.,  32. 

Hitopadesa,    22,   189.  191,   310; 
gems  from,  189,  210. 


416 


INDEX. 


Holtzman,  44. 

Homer,  225;  of  Iran,  215. 

Hyde,  Dr.,  118. 

I. 

Iliad,  97. 
Ifing,  93. 
Im,  58,57;  66. 

Incantations,  53,  65. 

India,  4,  6,  15,  27,  48,  78. 

India  House,  62. 

Indra,  66,  87,  95,  99,  404. 

Indus,  15. 

Inscriptions  of  Artaxerxes,  30, 
49. 

Inscriptions,  Bavian,  36;  Cunei- 
form, 3,  30;  Darius,  17.  30,  45, 
114;  Western  Asia,  n  34,  n41. 
n  67;  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  30, 
38;  of  Xerxes,  30,  49. 

Invasion,  Turanian,  228,  245. 

lonians,  48. 

Iran,  1,  11,52;  laws  of ,  12. 

Iranian  romance,  27. 

Isaiah,  21. 

Isfendiyar,  226,  272,  274;  conflict 
with'Rustem,  276;  death  of, 
272,  282. 

Israel,  prophets  of,  39. 

Israelites,  35. 

Ishtar,  10,  42,  53,  60,  68,  69,  74, 
75;  of  Arbela,  53.  69;  of  Erech, 
53,  70;  descent  of,  53,  78. 

Ishtar  and  Izdubar,  53,  71. 

Isis,  95. 

Ithaca,  74. 

lyar,  month  of,  50. 

Ixion,  wheel  of,  77. 

J. 

Jalal-uddin  Rumi,  309,  310,  331. 
Jami,  26,  321,  330,  332;  works  of. 

321,  332.  333  ;  grave  of,  332. 
Jehan,  Shah,  332. 
Jericho,  38. 

Jeremiah,  n  11,  39,  n  41,  n  62. 
Jerusalem,  38,  42;  siege  of,  35. 
Joel,  Rabbi.  190. 
Jones,  Sir  Win.,  191. 
Joshua,  book  of,  56. 


KaSbah,  173,  175,  184. 

Kabul,  234,  245. 

Kai-kaus,  248,  257,  258. 

Karsipta  (mythical  bird),  97,  120, 
151. 

Khorassan,  216,  285,  331. 

Kindness  to  the  unworthv,  309, 
314. 

Kine,  soul  of,  141. 

Kine,  wail  of,  127,  131. 

Kings,  Achaemenian,  20. 

Kings,  Assyrian,  5,  36,  58,  88. 

Kings,  book  of,  67. 

Kings,  Babylonian,  88;  of  Judah; 
n  62;  literary,  321;  Moslem.  27; 
Persian,  35/43,  54,  78;  Saman- 
ian,  214;  Sassanian,  23,  24, 189, 
336. 

Koran,  19,  23,  103,  165;  arrange- 
ment of,  168;  author  of,  165, 
168;  extracts  from,  180,  182, 
183;  literary  style  of,  165,  188; 
teaching  of,  165,  178,  179, 185. 

Krishna,  67. 

IN 

Lady  of  battles,  69  ;  of  kingdoms, 
10,  41  ;  of  Tiggaba  City,  80. 

Laili,  description  of,  287;  wed- 
ding of,  284.  296,  297;  deliver- 
ance of,  299;  death  of,  304;  and 
Majnun,  233,  284,  286. 

Land,  fairest,  310. 

Lassen,  31,  44. 

Layard,  31. 

Law,  Mosaic,  64,  n  156. 

Leopard,  torn  by  dogs,  73,  75. 

Leviticus,  n  82. 

Literature,  Assyrian,  76;  Baylo- 
nian.  4,  6;  early,  1,  19;  mod- 
ern Persian,  1,  24;  of  Nineveh, 
1,  5;  Persian,  1,  28,  54,  409; 
Oriental,  17. 

Loftus,  44,  50. 

Loki,  66. 

Lydia,  6,  7,  15. 


Maha-bharata,  90,  106,  225,  334. 
Majnun,  284,  286;  temptation  of, 


417 


302;  victory  of,  303;  death  of, 
306. 

Manuscripts,  1,  19,  35,  109,  115. 

Manuscripts,  Persian,  19, 20,  224, 
331,  339. 

Manuscript,  Yasna,  xvii,  117. 

Marathon,  52,  121. 

Marchesvan,  month  of,  n  43. 

Mardtmann,  44. 

Marriage  song,  127,  135. 

Mazdeisra,  118,  121,  129. 

Mazinderan,  248,  251,  261. 

Medea,  74. 

Medes,  20,  40,  n  43. 

Media,  7,  11,  15,  48,  49. 

Medians,  12,  47. 

Meher  and  Mushteri,  338. 

Merodach,  8,  n  36,  53,  61. 

Mesapotamia,  30. 

Metamorphoses,  Ovid's,  n  75,  76. 

Mir  Amar,  19. 

Moabite  stone,  64. 

Mobeds,  20. 

Mohammed,  165;  birth  of,  168; 
family  of.  168.  169,  171,  175, 
184;  death  of,  165,  175. 

Mohammedanism,  see  Koran. 

Molech,  8,  10,  63,  64,  108. 

Mountains,  Alborz,  91,  103,  229; 
Ausindom,  28;  Elvend,  18,44, 
49;  Median,  13;  Meru,  90,  107: 
mother  of,  91 ;  mythical.  86,  86; 
Nida,  90,  107;  Nubian,  7;  Oaf, 
90,  180,  322;  twin,  89;  world, 
107. 

Miiller,  Prof.  P.  Max,  xiii,  109, 
117,  191. 

Museum,  British,  n  5,  33,  35,  37, 
49,  67,  n  84. 

Muhteshim,  214,  221. 

Mytholosjy,  Asiatic,  108;  Assyri- 
an, 53,  55,  61,  65,  76;  Chal- 
dean, 54,  107;  early,  1,  53; 
Greek,  5,  54,  63,  66,  68,  70,  75, 
77;  Hindu,  99,  128;  Indo-Eu- 
ropean, 105;  of  Mazdeism,  105; 
Norse,  66,  76,  77,  90,  96,  103; 
Persian,  53,  54,  93,98,403;  of 
tablets,  53. 


N. 

Nabonidas,  40,  41. 

Nadir  Shah,  336. 

Nawazindah,  195. 

Naram  Sin,  33. 

Nebo,  8,  36,  40,  52,  53,  62,  69. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  7,  8,  9,  31,  36, 

40,  62. 

Neptune,  59,  63,  227. 
Nergal,  53,  61. 
Nile,  3,  92. 
Nineveh,  5,  6,  14,  51,  54,  60,  76; 

arts  of,  17,  18. 
Ninip,  53,  60,  63. 
Nin-ci-gal,  53,  60,  79,  82,  83. 
Nimrod,  n  2,  43. 
Nisan,  month  of,  40. 
Nizffmi,  25.  285,  307,  331. 
Norris,  44,  45. 
Noufal,  292. 
Nushirvan,  22,  190. 

o. 

Odin,  77. 

Odyssey,  74. 

Olympus,  107,  108. 

Olympians,  77. 

Omar,  22,  216. 
!  Omar  Khayyam,  215. 
*  Oppert,  Dr.,  31,  32,  44,  49,  61,  66, 
i     68,  114. 

Oppression,  priestly,  403,  410. 
1  Ormazd,  12,  48,  106,  112,   121, 
161 ;  symbol  of,  17. 

Osirus,  77. 

Ovid,  74. 

Outline,  Historic,  1. 


Pacorus,  50,  51. 

Pahlavi,  22,  109,  112,  117. 

Palestine,  7,  39. 

Pancatantra,  22,  189. 

Parsis  Early,  109,  121. 

Parsis  Modern,  109,   123,    161  ; 

teachings  of,  146, 161 ;  laws  of, 

146 ;  anglicized,  163. 
Pearl,  the,  309,  313, 
Periods,  Seven,  214. 
Period,  First,  214  ;  second,  284  ; 

third,  309 ;  fourth,  321  ;  fifth, 


418 


INDEX. 


321,    330;     sixth,    321,    334; 

seventh,  321,  335  ;  later,  321. 
Persia,  1,  46,  49  ;  government  of, 

14  ;  modern,  15,  24  ;    physical 

features  of,  1,  15,  87. 
Persian  corruption,  14  ;  magnifi- 

cence, 14  ;  romance,  1,  27,  338; 

scholars,  27,  191,  216,  284,  309, 

323,  330,  334  ;  texts,  44,  45. 
Persians,  12,  14,  40,  50. 
Persepolis,  13,  18,  20,  30,  44,  47, 

49,  113,  340. 

Pigeons,  the  two,  189,  195. 
Pigeons  and  the  Rat,  189,  204. 
Pir-i-sebz,  321,  325. 
Pinches,  Theo.  G.,  xiii,  n  3. 
Pleiades  Persian,  332. 
Pliny,  n  36,  n  69. 
Pluto,  60,  102. 
Polygamy,  165,  184. 
Prophets,  Hebrew,  11,  41,  163. 
Proserpine,  60,77. 
Prosperity,  dangers  of,  309,  319. 
Proverbs,  Book  of,  310. 
Punishment,  146,  156. 
Purification,  laws  of,  146,  154. 
Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  76. 


Qaf  Mount,  90,  180,  332. 
Queen,  the,  338,  345. 
Quaris,  170,  172. 


Rakush,  226,  252,  278. 
Ramayana,  96,  225,  334. 
Rassam,  31. 
Rask,  Dr.,  116,  117. 
Rawlinson,  Sir   Henry,  32,  n  35, 

44. 
Records  of  the  Past,  n  34,  n  38, 

n84. 

Rivers,  mythical,  86,  91. 
Rig  Veda,  114. 
Rule,  priestly,  403,  408. 
Rudabeh,  228,  234,  243,  244. 
Russian  influence,  16,  403,  410. 
Rustem,  birth  of,  244  ;  labors  of, 

226,  252,  254,  259  ;    marriage 

of,  252,  262  ;  conflict  with  Is- 


fendiyar,  276  ;  battle  with  his 
son,  269  ;  death  of,  283. 

s. 

Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  n  20, 

n  115,  n  150,  n  156. 
Sa'di,  25,  286,  311,  331  ;  works 

of,  309  ;  death  of,  312. 
Sag-did,  152,  153. 
Samanians,  dynasty  of,  24. 
Samarcand,  309,  323,    371,  373, 

407. 

Sam  Suwar,  228,  261,  279. 
Sardanapalus,  6. 
Sargon,  3,  33,  51,  60. 
Sayce,  Prof.  A.    H.  xiii,  2,  n4, 

n  9,  n  10,  31,  n  34,  55,  64,  n  95. 
Sea,  ^fCgean,   6,    107  ;   Arabian, 

15 ;  Caspian,  15. 
Sennacherib,  31,  34,  35,  36,  n  37. 
Serpent  King,  235,  241. 
Seven  Eras,  214. 
Shapur,  114,  121,397,  400. 
Shah  Mahmud,  216,  218,  222. 
Shah   Namah,    19,   22,    25,    214, 

228;  extracts  from,  228,  232, 

234,  241,  287. 
Shinar,  2,  4. 

Shiraz,  11,  14,  311,  321,  326. 
Sidon,  67,  108. 
Silver,  value  of,  n  9. 
Silence  the  Safety  of  Ignorance, 

309,  315. 

Silence,  towers  of,  155. 
Simurgh,  91,  200,  279,  322;  nest 

of,  98,  228,  229. 
Sin,  the  Moon  God,  53,  60,  65, 

76. 

Siva,  67,  161. 
Sleipner,  77,  227. 
Society,  Royal  Asiatic,  32,  45. 
Sohrab,  252,  266,  269. 
Spiegel,  44,  110,  116, 117. 
Spenta  Armaita,  n  150,  153,  155. 
Storm  Spirits,  Seven,  56. 
Styx,  107. 
Sumer,  1,  2,  3. 
Suez,  44,  49. 
Susa,  44,  49,  50,  69. 


INDEX. 


419 


T. 

Tablets,  1,  3,  30,  53;  historic,  5, 

30,  33;  Persian,  50. 
Talbot  Fox,  31,  32,  56,  n  84. 
Tamineh  (wife  of  Rustem),  266; 

death  of,  271. 
Tammuz  (the  sun  god),   42,   53, 

63,  67,  68,  108;  month  of,  42, 

43. 

Tantalus,  77. 
Tazieh,  the  (Persian  Drama),  n 

410. 

Tiamat,  55,  56. 
Tigris,  5,  16,  40. 
Tiglath-Pileser,  32,  n  36,  67. 
Timur,  322,  330,  332,  334. 
Tistrya  (storm  god),  98,  100,  102. 
Transactions  Vic.  Institute,  n37, 

n  40,  n  43. 
Tukulti-Ninip,  n36. 
Tyre,  2,  38, 66. 

C. 

Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  3,  40. 
Ugbaru,  n43. 
Ulysses,  74,  75. 

v. 

Valhal,  90. 

Var  or  Vara  of  Yima,  97,  146, 

147,  150,  151. 

Vilrengana  (the  raven),  97. 
Varuna,  99,  128. 
Vedas,  58,  110. 
Vedic  deities,  25. 
Vedfolner  (hawk).  96. 
Vendidad,  95,  111,  126,  146,  151, 

159. 

Venus,  69,  76;  Babylonian,  87. 
Vishnu,  92,  96,  161. 
Visparad,  111,  146,  158. 
Vouru  Kasha,  94,  95. 
Vulcan,  63. 


Water,  sacred,  154. 
Water  Dog,  157. 


Westergaard,  44,  110,  116. 
Williams,   Sir  M.   Monier.    liii, 

161,  n!64. 

Women,  penalties  upon,  n  157. 
Women,  unprincipled,  123. 
Wrestler,  the  Wise,  309,  317. 

X. 

Xerxes,   44,   52;  inscriptions  of, 
30,  49. 


Yasna,  111,  126,  127,  137,  142; 

concluding.  127,  144. 
Yasts,  112, 119,  127,  142. 
Yasna  Haptang-haita,  127,  141. 
Yast  Sraosha,  127,  142. 
Yazatas  or  Angels,  100,  112. 
Yemen,  2,  23. 

Yezdejird,  22,  215,  216,  225. 
Ygdrasil,  96. 
Yima,  86,  97,  98,  102,  148;  Vara 

of,  146,  147,  150,  151. 
Yusuf  and  Zulaikha,  26,  333. 


Zal  (the  white-haired  child),  18, 
228,  234,  245,  261 ;  banishment 
of,  229;  sheltered  in  Simurgh's 
nest,  230;  restoration  of,  233. 

Zedekiah,  king,  38. 

Zend,  110,  117. 

Zend  A  vesta,  20,  109,  111:  age 
of,  109,  113;  divisions  of,  109, 
111;  derivation  and  language 
of,  109;  extracts  from,  1*5, 140, 
142,  148,  152,  159;  teaching  of, 
127,  146. 

Zoroaster,  or  Zarathustru,  109, 
112,  118,  127,  141,  144,  148; 
life  of,  118. 

Zoroastrianism,  124,  162. 

Zoroastrian  Period,  25. 

Zyd,  vision  of,  284,  306. 


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